Spoilers ahead…
Copyright ©2021 Film Companion.
Posted in: Cinema: Telugu, OTT / TV / Online
Despite the clichés, Bucchi Babu Sana’s ‘Uppena’ (Panja Vaisshnav Tej, Krithi Shetty, Vijay Sethupathi) does interesting things in the ‘masala’ space
Posted on April 23, 2021
Baradwaj Rangan 
Sri Prabhuram
April 23, 2021
Never expected this review from you. Keep it up BR.
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Satya
April 23, 2021
VJS apparently okayed the script because he loved the dialogues, specifically his. And then politely refuses to dub, saying his voice doesn’t have the necessary impact. That’s a dichotomy indeed! But then, I don’t think he can really ace this intermission scene in his own voice:
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local
April 24, 2021
Telugu F.I is the last of Indian film industries that is still doing masala films. I hope they don’t stop making mass movies. Half of their industry is filled with Chiranjeevi’s sons, nephews et al.
I hope the next-gen nepo kids in TFI don’t become self-hating, English-speaking, American sitcom-watching, wanna-be Whites like Karan johar, and end up making poor copies of American movies in the future.
I think Malayalam Industry is smart in that their sources of copies are film festival movies made in obscure countries that the Indian film audiences are not familiar with. Malayalees are so self-deprecating and self-aware that it is not in their DNA to even envision or make movies that have hero introduction scenes/songs or “self-dabba” hero scenes. That is why their attempts at making mass movies look like poor copies of other industries.
Be local, go local should be the motto. Especially at present times, when all sorts of movies from other countries are accessible to people in India, why would they want to watch a watered-down version of foreign movies made by their local film industries?
The reason Bahubali became a pan-Indian hit was bcoz of a Rajamouli who was proud of the historical mythology movies made in the past by his film industry and made an updated version of those movies for a present-day audience with large scale production values.
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Preya
April 24, 2021
Am always on the go. I use the phone while I wait at the restaurant, busstop. I can’t watch these video reviews. N I am so upset that I don’t get to read your thoughts
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brangan
April 25, 2021
Sri Prabhuram: Not sure I understand your comment: “Never expected this review from you…”
As in, you never expected me to review THIS film?
Or, you never expected me to give it a slightly positive review?
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karzzexped
April 25, 2021
@BR – I think Sri meant the latter. I guess he’s new to your “first time director puts honest efforts to elevate a decent script = slightly positive review logic” 😃
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Sai Ashwin
April 25, 2021
As a telugu person, It’s amusing to find that BR and co thinks any Sukumar affiliated film to be branded as “masala”.
I can assure you, they are not thinking in terms of masala as a genre or template or anything. For most such mainstream filmmakers, this is the only way to make a film, not really a conscious decision.
For many actually, Sukumar and co’s films are in fact the “off-beat” “intelligent” films compared to Rajamoui/Trivikiram/Boyapati’s commercial potboilers.
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Sri Prabhuram
April 25, 2021
I didn’t expect you to review THIS movie in particular. But given the positive response despite COVID, the fact that it’s on Netflix and the second wave happening in India, it makes sense that you would review it.
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Sri Prabhuram
April 25, 2021
karzzexped: I did not mean the latter and I’m not
certainly not new to that “first-time” director logic, especially with BR’s Telugu film reviews of the past few years or so.
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brangan
April 26, 2021
Sai Ashwin: As a Tamil person who has grown up with Tamil/Telugu masala films, I find nothing “amusing” about the term “masala”. It is as valid a descriptor as, say, “noir”.
I have utmost love and regard for this “genre”, and I think you are confusing “masala” with “mass”. (Or maybe you just have contempt for masala films, in which case I cannot argue with you — that’s a taste-based thing.)
DEEWAR, for instant, is one of the greatest masala dramas.
For most such mainstream filmmakers, this is the only way to make a film, not really a conscious decision.
I completely agree. Have I said anything in the review that contradicts this?
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Madan
April 26, 2021
I mean, I am not even the greatest masala fan courtesy of the time I grew up in but Sholay is flat out one of the greatest Hindi films ever and is the very epitome of masala. Likewise, Aboorva Sagotharargal in Tamil. Like many other genres, it can ascend the greatest heights in the right hands and is a valid form of cinema as opposed to a supposedly ‘inferior’ Indian product (aka made in Ulhasnagar type of pejorative).
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krishikari
April 26, 2021
I liked it. It was very much like Sairat, but I suppose that’s a plus. The stoicism and devotion of the hero also reminded me very much of K-dramas.
The leads had chemistry and were good looking and charming, sometimes that’s all I ask. VS as the villain was convincingly villainous, a bad guy who loves his only child but treats her as an extension of family property is not new but this film and many others are questioning that mindset, we are not supposed to be on his side or even slightly sympathetic to his values and that’s a relief.
Minuses? Hits you over the head with the message not once or twice but about fifteen times. The gruesome twist is almost too horrible to watch and feels like it’s just for shock value.
Definitely masala, and good masala these days is rare. Rarely I find myself agreeing 100% with BR and this is one of those times. 😉
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Aman Basha
April 26, 2021
Telugu and Tamil cinema seems to be on a roll these days with good fun mass masala films whereas Hindi is so starved of ideas, they are remaking even an average film and separately remixing the hit songs (DJ).
Have to agree, in Telugu, Sukumar is considered the off-beat filmmaker. Really loved his and Mahesh’s 1, pity it flopped so badly.
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Madan
April 26, 2021
Masala has never gone away in Tamil/Telugu. OTOH in Hindi it’s more or less completely forgotten now as to how masala films are made. And I doubt if a good masala film would even work anymore. That kind of elevated Urdu laced dialogue itself is considered odd today. Songs for ‘hero entrance’ is a near alien concept now. So on and so forth. Albeit, like I have said before, in Hindi, masala just got so bad that it kind of HAD to be put away. Nobody wants “dekho 2000 zamana aa gaya” back.
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Satya
April 26, 2021
Rangasthalam can stand a good half-hour trim – it runs 179 minutes – but there’s a method behind the (apparent) madness
These words by BR can define almost every film Sukumar makes/writes. He isn’t a Ram or a Bala, but definitely not the usual guy you see around.
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Aman Basha
April 26, 2021
@Madan: It’s not as though Salman Khan, with his brand of South India masala remakes, is the past decade’s ruling superstar by any chance? And it’s not as though his two good masala films, written by masala lovers, are the decade’s biggest blockbusters.
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kaizokukeshav
April 26, 2021
They portrayed it as social drama but frankly it’s just an ego war between an upper class father and upper class daughter. Ultimately the lower class guys ended up losing everything. How is this justice ?
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Madan
April 26, 2021
“And it’s not as though his two good masala films, written by masala lovers, are the decade’s biggest blockbusters.” – Good is where I get off. Albeit I grant I am biased as I can’t stand Salman. That being said, the point stands because none of the other Khans today attempt what Salman can. He is the last masala hero in Bollywood.
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Yajiv
April 27, 2021
@Madan: Your comment on “the last masala hero” reminded me of the 90s Schwarzenegger self-satire Last Action Hero. If only Salman had the guts to do something similar and poke fun of his movies/image!
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local
April 27, 2021
” And I doubt if a good masala film would even work anymore ”
Wasn’t Ramleela a masala movie? Doesn’t Rohit Shetty still make masala?
Ranveer Singh is made for masala. Even Akshay Kumar is.
I put the blame once again on the foreign educated nepo kids like Saif for the masala movies’ disappearance from Bollywood. Saif can’t dance, can’t act, can’t do comedy. Can’t even look convincing in an ‘introduction song’ like a Ranveer Singh did in thathad thathad. What Saif can do though is hold long shots of his face staring into the camera looking blank, which can be interpreted by the audience in any which way depending on the appropriate bgm in the background. SO the music director has to be given maJor credits for Saif’s acting skills.
But Saif was intelligent enough to work it to his advantage, and moved on to OTT where he put his staring skills to good use.
SInce the nepo kids are all too cool and emotionally closed to be open or expressive in front of the camera, the likes of Ranveer who is not affected/pretentious in his acting or in his real life gets entry into Bollywood and becomes a success.
I think the solution is for the present-day stars to send their nepo-kids to local Hindi medium schools instead of exclusive private schools abroad. It will guarantee them becoming familiar with the local lingo and ‘culture’ and will become true “sons of the soil/dharthiputr”.
Getting trained in Stanislavski method in American acting schools will do them no good. I dont think most Janta (aam aadmi) wants to watch an actors’ internalized performance or pondering and discussing the existential crisis of life in Bollywood movies. I think most people watch Bollywood for the spectacle… the song, dance,comedy,masala. This form of film-making is so exclusive to Indian film industry and it should be preserved at any cost and not be wiped away under the influence of films from the West.
The only hope is the next gen nepo kids in order to take this ‘masala movement’ forward. So this is my plea to Saif to not send Taimur to an English boarding School and push him into academics, homesickness,identity crisis and depression. He will end up coming back to Bollywood to earn his livelihood anyways and audience will have to suffer through his flop movies where there will be closeups of him staring into space while the music director ups the bgm intensity to compensate for his acting skills. Send Taimur to a local aamchi mumbai school and let him grow up pakka local and be proud of it.
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Madan
April 27, 2021
“Ranveer Singh is made for masala. Even Akshay Kumar is.” – Ranveer, to an extent, but it seems like a lot of people see through him so he doesn’t have the fourth wall effect of yesteryear superstars. This is not a criticism of Ranveer; I am just saying what the audience perception is.
Akshay WAS a very successful masala/comedy star but he is of Salman’s generation anyway so I didn’t count him and besides his recent successes have come from hinging onto issue based films. Only Salman can still star in films that are about nothing but Salman and still succeed. In other words, the Ajith/Vijay effect.
I agree in essence with what you are saying and would add that training nepocompoops like Imran in method acting is a waste of time. But as they are also disconnected from Hindi, they are unable to mouth those dialogues convincingly. Aamir also came through due to his film family but Aamir didn’t sound out of place rendering Nasir Hussain’s dialogues in QSQT. I remember when Imran visited a Hindi radio station and asked them to play English songs. That’s pretty much the rub. They disdain the very world in which they want to succeed. I am not saying they have to become like a foreigner’s impression of desi tastes and dance to My Name is Lakhan but you HAVE to have some grounding in Hindi masala films. Otherwise how are you going to act in those star vehicles lined up to help you succeed? Only Tiger gets away by specializing in action; he has understood, like Arnold, that being a man of few words can go a long way even in cinema.
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Madan
April 27, 2021
Yajiv: Of all the big stars of 90s Bollywood, only SRK has the guts to do that and did so at least twice – Baadshah and OSO, both of which had an element of parodying Bollywood.
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krishikari
April 27, 2021
The sheer fun of a masala movie requires a sense of humour. I think Salman had that to make his non-dancing heroes dance. I understood the Dabang movies as parodies, are you telling me they weren’t?!
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Anu Warrier
April 27, 2021
Saif can’t act? That’s news to me. Watch Langda Tyagi and tell me that he’s ‘too westernized’ for Indian films!
Sure, Taimur may come back to these shores and debut in films; he may or may not be a good actor, since I don’t think there’s anything like ‘acting genes’ to go around. I’d much rather evaluate him on his acting abilities (or lack thereof) if/when he enters films than diss a child for the family he’s born into.
Not all outsiders who try to make it in the industry are talented. Not all ‘nepo kids’ are ‘un’ talented.
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Anu Warrier
April 27, 2021
p.s Not all kids who are sent to boarding school suffer from “homesickness,identity crisis and depression.” Nor is being ‘pushed into academics’ whatever that means, a bad thing. Or are you arguing that because he will eventually become an actor (love the crystal ball, by the way), he shouldn’t be educated?
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rsylviana
April 27, 2021
@Anu – I know where you are coming from, but are you really willing to bet that “Taimur won’t become an actor”? Because I’m willing to bet a thousand bucks on the opposite and looking at the current state of the world, I could really use the money !
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Aman Basha
April 27, 2021
Last Action Hero-like parody is not possible in India, because all mass heroes have a certain element of self parody. How can you parody Chulbul Pandey, when he’s already making meta jokes, self references, breaking the fourth wall and acting like a cartoon anyway? You can parody Raj/Rahul since they’re relatively serious characters. In that vein, Ready is a parody version of HAHK, there’s a joke about Bhai’s six packs and all.
But about Raj/Rahul parodies in OSO, HNY and others, it’s amusing how self reference and self reverence blur. Shows how much of a narcissist the star is.
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vijay
April 27, 2021
I think there is still some confusion here between mass and masala. what was Ranveer Singh’s Simbha if not masala? Hindi cinema still churns out quite a bit of masala. It is the mass films they may have reduced. What was “War” if not masala? The form of these masala movies is what is changing over the years. Hindi cinema’s business still depends a lot on these masala films. Ranveer’s next is Anniyan’s remake it looks like, so..
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Yajiv
April 27, 2021
@Madan: Agreed on both counts. Fan deserves a mention too. I was surprised at how not-favourably the movie portrayed the ‘superstar’ character, especially in the first half. TBH if you had asked me sometime ago, which of the 3 Khans’ careers would have cratered by now, I never once would have guessed it would be SRK (my money was on the Bhai FWIW). I do hope he makes a later-year Big B-esque comeback.
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Aman Basha
April 27, 2021
Saif was pretty fun as Akshay’s sidekick in Main Khiladi Tu Anari and he’s done few other masala movies that don’t come to my mind, but had Devgan with the a.
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MANK
April 28, 2021
Aman, That’s Kachche dhaaghe. that was a really good masala film. Saif is bearable only as a sidekick, he’s totally unfit to be a lead hero. And his voice and his accent, my god, i can’t believe anyone with that actually became a Hindi film hero.
I would say the last full-blooded hindi film masala hero is Govinda, that’s until Ranveer Singh came along. I’m not just talking about his David Dhawan comedies, where he excels of course, but you watch a film like Khuddar- the remake of Walter Vetrivel- he’s really good in it.
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Anu Warrier
April 28, 2021
@Rsylvania – where did I say “Taimur won’t become an actor”? He may. Or he may not. Who knows? Who cares?
I don’t have a crystal ball. I have no idea if he will or won’t. My point is, what does sending him to boarding school (you can argue the merits and demerits of that, if you want), or ‘pushing him into academics”(whatever that means) have to do with him being an actor?
I’m pushing back against the OP’s comment that Taimur will be an actor; and that because he will be an actor, he shouldn’t be pushed into academics because…. everyone knows all actors are uneducated; that he shouldn’t be sent to boarding school because… everyone knows that all boarding school kids are homesick, depressed and have an identity crisis.
And honestly, my general opinion of ‘nepo kids’ is yes, the scale is tilted in their favour. Unfortunately, it is not their fault that they are born into the families they are born into. Call them out when they ignore the privilege of their birth; or abuse it to oust someone else. If they are just there, doing their job, let them. They have as much right as a non-nepo kid to work in a field of their choosing.
If young Taimur wants to follow in his parents’ (and grand-parents, and great-grandparents and… the Kapoors have been a part of the industry since almost the very beginning) footsteps, so be it. He may be cast because of his surname. But he will stand or fall on his own merit.
And anyone who feels strongly about ‘nepo’ kids can choose not to see his film. Ignoring the work of many other not-nepo children in the making of that film.
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Aman Basha
April 28, 2021
@MANK, yeah Kacche Dhaage. Milan Lutharia is quite good with these heavy dialoguebaazi, serious masala.
Saif does have a anglicized accent, which explains how he slugged through the 90s without a single hit, piggybacking on other stars. With multiplex cinema, he found his groove and has survived. It’s not as surprising as Salman Khan, being the biggest single screen star post Bachchan 🙂
Methinks Govinda was not too convincing in action sequences as Akshay or even Salman. That and Sunny paaji’s comedy skills might be the only explanation of why these two suddenly disappeared and didn’t resurge like Akshay or Ajay.
Strangely, Abhishek was rather good in Run as a masala hero. Wonder how even this didn’t work for him. Except Aish, guy’s been quite unlucky.
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local
April 29, 2021
Anu ..all your points are valid. Too many putdowns in my comment, but worse is my grammar and syntax…eww..
I just wanted to clear the point that I have nothing against nepo kids. MY problem is only with foreign-educated nepos who have watched too many English movies and have spend a lot of time abroad, emulating goras’ emotional reservedness& body language. They look so awkward when doing Bollywood films. The zinda dilli attitude, playfulness, ‘desipan’ and acting range one sees in a Ranveer or Govinda is missing in them.
Also, they have an overall contempt in their attitude for anything desi. Saif is smart in that he doesn’t openly show his disdain for Bollywood like SRK does. He hides his contempt better, but it leaks out through the occasional patronizing attitude. Or I think he is just plain scared to openly take potshots at others. I remember him&SRK hosting FIlmfare awards and making fun of Vidyas’ dressing style and Madhavan’s Tamil. It was just plain wrong..not funny at all.
I like Amir, Hrithik, and even Salman …all nepos..
Love AAmir for his range..from the cutie pie bf in QSQT to his heartbreaking crying scenes in Akele Hum..&Dil Chahta Hai to the menacing, sleazy & plain evil villain in Earth.
I like Hrithik for his “feels”. I know people didn’t like his cry-baby scenes in Agneepath& Mission Kashmir. But I love him bring on the sad feels.
I love Salman for just having survived so many decades in the industry..Same goes for AAMir.
I think SRK was just a one-trick pony, who did a bit of romance. I honestly thought SRK looked funny while trying to look menacing in Raees trailer.
One more unpopular opinion for which I know I am going to get a lot of flak. Alia is a good actress, BUt I think Alia Bhatt is also a one-trick pony. Cute baby-faced girl going through trauma and one big scene where she does the ugly cry is her schtick. That is what she did in Highway, Udta Punjab Kapoor&sons, and Raazi. She has repeated the same thing too many times that by the time she did the same cathartic ugly cry in Raazi, people had started getting tired of it and there are memes made on her.
I wasn’t impressed with Gangubai trailer. But still, I like her way above a lot of other Bollywood actresses.
Only ANu had turned against me so far. WIth the Alia comment, I know that half the boys here are going to turn against me. I know how much she is loved, especially by the men.
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brangan
April 29, 2021
local: I get your point about being a one-trick pony. But when the right film comes along, these “ponies” can be amazing. One of my favourite one-trick ponies of all time is Cary Grant, and he was so amazing because he chose the right films almost all the time (his stinker rate is very low for a star of that magnitude).
I love SRK when he gets the right vehicle (though I would disagree that he is a one-trick pony). I loved him in ZERO (I know, I was the only one who likes that film 🙂 )
“Shah Rukh is fantastic. The cruel streaks in his character (until he softens at the end) allow him to play more shades than he’d have managed in a standard-issue, limpid-eyed Raj-Rahul role. “
For me, this is more than a “Raj-Rahul” role.
As for Alia, her initial bag of tricks have been exposed now, as it happens for almost every actor over — say — 10 films. So to determine if she has more in the bag, we’ll need to see some very different kind of filmmaker work with her. I want to see what Bhansali has done with her (though I am not too convinced as yet, by what I have seen in the trailer).
BTW, I would say even a “serious actor” like Sanjeev Kumar was very much a “one-trick pony”. After a point, you can almost predict how he will say a line or do a comedy scene, and it’s the great roles he got that go a way towards building his “great actor” reputation — as opposed to, say, a Naseer, who has extraordinary range and (when he wants to) can still make you see a Naseer you’ve never seen before.
Anyway, just a few thoughts, so people still know I am capable of writing 😛
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Aman Basha
April 29, 2021
@brangan: Hey, I liked Zero too 🙂
I think a major problem with Alia is, you can make a woman look like a girl, but it’s hard to make a girl look like a woman. That’s why she looks like a total misfit in Gangubai. In fact, Bhansali was taking her for Inshallah which seems like a more typical Alia role. It’s going to be tough for her in her 30s to get good roles and be convincing with them.
And please, get back to writing.
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Madan
April 29, 2021
“WIth the Alia comment, I know that half the boys here are going to turn against me. I know how much she is loved, especially by the men.” – Not really, there is truth in your critique though it often also depends on how an actor gets cast. I used to generally think of Julianne Moore as rather boring until I saw her enact Sarah Palin to perfection in Game Change. It may be that even my initial impression was wrong/biased by not seeing other roles that showcased her skills. But what I am saying is actors do often get typecast and made to appear more ‘same’ than they might be. A similar complaint about Ranbir Kapoor is he is always playing overgrown child but then he did act as the scion in a political family in Rajneeti and was convincing in that role. So is it that Ranbir lacks range or is it that directors don’t have the conviction to push him outside his comfort zone/the stereotype of the roles he’s already played? When an actor IS cast in roles that are very different and still uses the same set of tricks, then yes, they are a one trick pony. I am leaning towards a yes in the case of Alia Bhatt because the person I see in Humpty Sharma or Kapoor and Sons is fundamentally the same. Just as a quick contrast with another young actress, Sania Malhotra was able to convey nuances of different personalities in Badhai Ho and Pagglait.
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local
April 29, 2021
So my trick worked and I got a reply from Rangan😂. Dissing baby face Alia always brings out the paternal/ protective instincts from many and always gets a response😝.
(Before anyone gets triggered…… that was just a Joke.)
I am sure both SRK and Alia will do wonders by choosing the right scripts and working with the right filmmaker.
I wonder if that explains Amir& Salman’s longevity in the industry…getting pointers in the right direction when it comes to choosing the right script, just by being around filmmaker/ writer fathers at home from a young age?
I remember Amir saying that he used to sit through hours of script narrations with his dad when he was young. He had said his script sense and choosing the right stories must have come bcoz of those early script narration sessions.
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MANK
April 29, 2021
One of my favourite one-trick ponies of all time is Cary Grant
Ah! now you got a fight on your hands :). Come on boss that’s unfair. An actor who could do the serious stuff of Notorious, Only angels have wings and North by Northwest on one hand, and then the madcapism of Bringing up baby, His girl Friday and Arsenic and old lace on the other, and the straight romantic hero of An Affair to remember etc. ; no way in hell he’s a one-trick pony.
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Satya
April 29, 2021
As much as I love this B’wood conversation, I really wished for some more comments discussing this film as well. Maybe two in a ten new ones… 🙂
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MANK
April 29, 2021
BTW, I would say even a “serious actor” like Sanjeev Kumar was very much a “one-trick pony”. After a point, you can almost predict how he will say a line or do a comedy scene
But that’s not being a one-trick pony no?. That happens to all great actors, even Pacino and De Niro, 90’s and beyond they all became every predictable. Btw, i really like to know which Naseer performance surprised you in last 3 decades, because the most surprising Naseer performances for me are from 70s and 80s. Post that he also peddled his own shtick.
I agree with you that SRK is not a one-trick pony. when inspired enough he can come up with Kabhi haan Kabhi naa or Swades or the “star” in Fan. Even in portions of Asoka i found him very different and interesting, the main problem there was with the characterization, where for most part Asoka was turned into the usual lovelorn Raj & Rahul amalgam.
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Madan
April 29, 2021
“That happens to all great actors, even Pacino and De Niro, 90’s and beyond they all became every predictable. Btw, i really like to know which Naseer performance surprised you in last 3 decades, because the most surprising Naseer performances for me are from 70s and 80s. Post that he also peddled his own shtick.” – Agree on all of this.
I can think of only a few actors who didn’t become completely predictable with time. Irfan and Manoj Bajpai from Hindi (Tabu among actresses). In Holly, Gary Oldman, DDL, Antony Hopkins, Paul Giamatti, Christian Bale, Helen Mirren, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett. As much as I love RDN and Pacino, I wouldn’t put them in that list and if anything, they became painfully predictable both on account of typecasting and on account of seemingly getting bored of acting. With the revelations about RDN’s troubles with his ex-wife, it’s clear now he’s only been in it for the paycheck lately.
One actor who is otherwise thoroughly predictable but surprised me bigtime in one role is Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln. Man, that performance was truly a revelation, absolutely note perfect, didn’t expect that from him at all. Matter of fact, I didn’t even recognise him for quite a while given the prosthetics and stuff.
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krishikari
April 29, 2021
@local I was with you on the nepo kids rant. Then you started attacking SRK. What the hell, he is the opposite of emotional restraint and disdain for Bollywood. You can dislike his style, the blubbering mouth or the stalkery roles but I think you are confusing his off screen opinions or actions with his very masala friendly acting. You just cannot compare Saif’s cold acting (which works great in OTT series and certain other roles) with SRK’s.
Nevertheless…
I remember him&SRK hosting FIlmfare awards and making fun of Vidyas’ dressing style and Madhavan’s Tamil. It was just plain wrong..not funny at all.
Agree, pure anti-south bias openly displayed. But, that is not the same as their acting in Bollywood films. Okay, if that colours your view of them, but it has nothing to do with the film performances.
I also liked, nay loved him in Raees. I’m absolutely furious that anyone would find it funny. YOU sound like a foreign reviewer.
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krishikari
April 29, 2021
Before anyone gets triggered…… that was just a Joke.
lame, disingenuous, cowardly. Man up or woman up and stand by your words.
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Aman Basha
April 29, 2021
@Satya: Sure 🙂 Am I the only one for whom Govinda comes off as a Bollywoodzied version of Chiranjeevi, who wasn’t as convincing in the fights?
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Karthik
April 29, 2021
I kind of agree with BR’s point about Cary Grant. He generally gives me the feeling that his character could walk off a scene in one movie and waltz right into another. Even the “variations” he played were like knobs he used, turn up the charm here or tone down the silly there. But the template Cary Grant character he played was just so authentic and watchable that it never felt out of place in all those different contexts.
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Anu Warrier
April 29, 2021
MANK, another Cary Grant fan here. 🙂 And if he’s a one-trick pony…. bring on more such!
I’ll add Suspicion to your list, by the way. And Charade. And what about The Philadelphia Story, where Jimmy Stewart played the ‘Grant’ role?
Man, I can watch that guy read a telephone book out loud!
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Anu Warrier
April 29, 2021
They look so awkward when doing Bollywood films. The zinda dilli attitude, playfulness, ‘desipan’ and acting range one sees in a Ranveer or Govinda is missing in them.
I agree with you that the entire new crop seem too ‘western’ for Indian films. It’s like they inhabit a strange universe that’s not quite New York, but isn’t really any city in India either. I do think Saif has it in him to do good work, and he’s acknowledged his discomfort with the broad ‘masala’ strokes in films before. Yet, he could do a Langda Tyagi and that’s where I like him. It’s not wrong to question the beats of the profession you are in. I don’t think he looks down upon it, though. I don’t hear contempt when he speaks. I hear a man trying his best to fit in, and wondering whether he ever will.
Another man I can listen to for hours, apart from SRK who gives some of the most delightful interviews. I think SRK was doomed by the Adi Chopras and Karan Johars, but he’s an intelligent man and has an absolute corker of a sense of humour, and can take potshots at himself – which is rare.
Though I do agree about that FF show – I cringed. I think they were trying to turn it into a roast, because, at the end of the day it’s all scripted including Akshay’s quip about Gauri calling him at night, but it was merely painful, not funny at all. The writer of that gig should have been fired.
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Anu Warrier
April 29, 2021
Krishikari – I missed that. Sing it, sister!
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Satya
April 29, 2021
Aman Basha: I cannot overrule that completely, though I find Govinda more energetic. For all his stardom and mass appeal, Chiranjeevi always felt like a calmer and milder presence. He lacks the power a Rajinikanth or Amitabh exuded onscreen, or the pathos a Kamal would conjure through his big beautiful eyes that told a tale of torment. Chiranjeevi OTOH felt like a zen dude going apeshit in a moment of misguided emotional imbalance when asked to deliver a fierce monologue. He felt more at home when responding to the villains with a confident yet grounded approach.
If you think I am overselling his abilities, it is because of the time he arrived on the scene. At a time when NTR and Krishna were plain dramatic and macho as the leads, Chiranjeevi’s villain roles felt more human. Even after transitioning to lead roles, his work was more subtle than any of his peers. Though most of that vanished in the late 1990s, I still respect him for what he is and continues to be.
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Aman Basha
April 30, 2021
@Satya: NTR, Krishna were macho? That’s news to me. I’ve always thought of Krishna as Rajesh Khanna to Chiru’s Amitabh. If not, it’s simply impossible to explain his popularity. He’s certainly gifted as an actor, although not at the quicksilver expressions of Rajini or booming baritone of Amitabh level. To make a controversial point, Mohanlal and him have some similar tics, though I can”t exactly pin what it is.
I think Chiranjeevi’s influence on Govinda is strongest in the dance sequences.
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Enigma
April 30, 2021
“I can think of only a few actors who didn’t become completely predictable with time. Irfan and Manoj Bajpai from Hindi (Tabu among actresses). In Holly, Gary Oldman, DDL, Antony Hopkins, Paul Giamatti, Christian Bale, Helen Mirren, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett.”
@Madan, I like that list – especially Daniel Day Lewis and Christian Bale. No one does physical transformation better than Bale. That man’s devotion to his art is incredible. Not so sure about Cate Blanchett – maybe it is because of her looks. Her overpowering beauty makes one ignore the character that she is portraying.
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local
April 30, 2021
I completely see the Govinda Chiranjeevi similarity. Chiranjeevi did comedy so well like it came naturally to him and that he didn’t have to make any effort.
In Jagadeka Veerudu… I thought Sridevi & him made such a good comedic pair in a few scenes in the beginning.
Talking of SRidevi, she could do anything and everything. Kshanam Kshanam is my favorite of her movies. That movie was full of her facial close-ups..The faces she makes in that movie, I haven’t seen any other Indian heroines make. Her face is so expressive.
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MANK
April 30, 2021
I agree with Anu about the off-screen SRK. He’s undoubtedly one of the most intelligent guys around, except when it comes to his films :). I used to buy film magazines only to read his interviews, they were so much fun. He’s well aware of the kind of trashy films he’s forced to peddle, but he has to do it, because that’s what seems to work for him. He has tried many to times to step out of it, by doing the kind of films he wanted to do- Phir Bhi dil hai hindustani, dil se, Asoka, Paheli- he put his own money into it, but none of the things worked for him. I don’t agree with a lot of things he does- all those ads, all those dancing at weddings and hosting award shows- that kind of overexposure worked for him for a while, but finally caught with him, that’s why he lost his stardom so quickly. Both Aamir and Salman knows when to make themselves visible and when to make themselves scarce. That’s very important for a star. SRK for all his intelligence, has a childish, immature side to him that makes him overindulge in these things.
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Madan
April 30, 2021
“Not so sure about Cate Blanchett – maybe it is because of her looks. Her overpowering beauty makes one ignore the character that she is portraying.” – True that charismatic looks can get in the way of the ability of an actor to be a chameleon but I am discussing unpredictability rather than THAT level of disguise here. So…when I watched Mrs America, I had no problem recognising Cate Blanchett as the actress playing Phyllis Schlafly but the person emerging from within was Phyllis, not Cate. A great actor becomes like a medium through which the character they are playing emerges in front of us because their sacrifice is total. Russell Crowe is a similar actor. His charisma is too overpowering for him to disappear from the screen but the person speaking through the body of Crowe is no longer Crowe himself but the person he is playing…even when that person is Roger Ailes. In comparison, as much as I love Al, he did become too fond of his own mannerisms through the 90s and started playing Al Pacino. A good exhibit was Insider where one got to compare Crowe and Pacino. Pacino stopped playing Lowell Bergman after sometime while Crowe was deeply committed to bringing Jeffrey Wigand to life.
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Aman Basha
April 30, 2021
I don’t agree with this bizarre notion that people peddle of SRK losing his stardom and Aamir, Salman surviving. There’s a complete lack of history in such statements. It’s a point easy to prove by only one question: How many solo hits did Salman have between Hum Saath Saath Hain and Wanted? 0. He was nowhere for a whole decade. We might blame his criminal proceedings, but the film that released after his case was Tere Naam, which scored the biggest opening of its time then. Furthermore, post Tiger Zinda Hai, he has not had a clean hit and even Dabanggg 3 flopped. In all honesty, SRK had a more respectable decline and down phase than Bhai.
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Satya
April 30, 2021
Aman Basha: I talk of the late 70s and the 80s, when NTR played massy roles and representing the ideal male, taming the shrewd female leads and occadionally slapping their ass (quite literally). Krishna too isn’t an exception to this.
To make a controversial point, Mohanlal and him have some similar tics, though I can”t exactly pin what it is.
I see where you are going with this and they do share some similarities in the way they use their eyes and body language to express an emotion or convey a thought. But I think Mohanlal is more subtle – the man knows when not to act and that actually helps when you wish for a grounded approach.
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Madan
April 30, 2021
“I don’t agree with this bizarre notion that people peddle of SRK losing his stardom and Aamir, Salman surviving. There’s a complete lack of history in such statements. It’s a point easy to prove by only one question: How many solo hits did Salman have between Hum Saath Saath Hain and Wanted? 0. He was nowhere for a whole decade.” – First of all, you know the depth of my dislike for Salman because when you add bad acting to blackbuck killing and drunk driving, it adds up to a heck of a combination. So it is not that I ‘peddle’ this notion to prop up Salman.
So that being said, what happened in the 90s is in the past. Salman had a sort of slump then but when he got back on track with Wanted, he was still young enough to pull out a string of superhits and he has. Aamir Khan was even younger when he reinvented himself starting with Lagaan and DCH. Only one of them was a hit and Lagaan actually lost out bigtime to the forgotbuster Gadar (I remember because I saw Gadar in theater :D). But Aamir had found a new direction after flops like Mela and Mann and never looked back.
SRK has simply fallen ‘off the patri’ after Happy New Year. I am not able to say quite what happened except that script selection has never been his strong suit and that is hurting him. He is more like a yesteryear star, like a Michelle Pfeiffer just signing up scripts thoughtlessly and happy to pocket the money without thinking about how it would fit into his brand.
Salman found a brand, a tone that suited him with Wanted/Dabbang and doubled/tripled down on it. Aamir likewise found a tone that fitted him, a sort of ‘woke’ hero before the term came about. Now let’s not talk about him visiting the one in Turkey who dreams of building his own caliphate. The ‘cine’ tone is what I am talking about.
There is no such consistency in SRK’s selections because he is a very instinctive actor. I like him a lot more than Aamir and just forget about Salman. But he doesn’t seem to have grasped how the industry has changed around him in the last decade.
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Aman Basha
April 30, 2021
@Madan: It isn’t the 90s, it’s the noughties technically and I also have mentioned Salman’s streak post TZH. I get your point that things might be particularly dire fro SRK as he is now 55, but then before 2009, who knew that a star could have his best phase at 45 or even Akshay’s current gold run after 50? I’m far more optimistic simply because the history points me to be. Jab Hirani aur Yashraj saath ho, toh darr kis baat ki?
@Satya: I think my point was more that the raw masculinity, machismo in Telugu Cinema came on the scene with Chiranjeevi and Khaidi. Earlier actors were too theatrical. Anyhow, post Khaidi, wasn’t Chiranjeevi undisputed numero uno?
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Madan
April 30, 2021
Salman seized on a window that was available before the rise of Ranveer, with none of the post-2000 stars really blowing hot anymore barring maybe Hrithink in papa’s projects. And again, he had the craziest fanbase at all times. I remember in my 10th standard coaching class, the maths teacher reported with disappointment that Hrithink wasn’t impressive in Mission Kashmir and the girls said unanimously that they were happy to hear that because they were Salman fans. :D:D I think Shah Rukh’s problem is somewhat like Kamal’s. He is relying on natural acting ability and charisma and not external factors of dubious origin like ‘humility’, ‘son of the soil’ blah blah. So again, he lacks the fourth wall effect of Salman and can no longer carry a film on his own name. Why, even back in the day, his ability to do so wasn’t too hot. He succeeded by filling slots that weren’t there in the Hindi cinema climate of the 90s – first as an anti hero, parallelly as a brilliant comedian and then as the sugarboy in Dharma/Adi films. Once the novelty value of these slots dried up, he has had a tough time but found a streak of success during his partnership with Farah Khan. Post that, he is again in a struggling phase and I think he now needs to do what Amitabh did and accept he is better off playing characters and no longer insisting he should be given lead parts. He has had too many flops in a row now and is not going to get new roles handed on a platter by and by.
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Spandana Vaidyula
April 30, 2021
“As much as I love this B’wood conversation, I really wished for some more comments discussing this film as well. Maybe two in a ten new ones…”
@Satya: Yep! Was excited to see 50+ comments on a Telugu movie, hoping for an interesting conversation. Should’ve known better.
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local
May 1, 2021
SRK has plainly said in many interviews that he does the weddings and ads for the money.
His Main hoon na was fun. Farah Khan did fun movies with him..MHN and OSO.
SAlman has been on tv for dus ka dum, biggboss, and is in the news for all sorts of cases and controversies, for the longest time. All that infamy doesn’t seem to have finished his career off. Salman fans are a different species altogether. I don’t understand how he inspires such loyalty from his fans.
I couldn’t sit through the radhe trailer .
Before he found the issue-based movie for survival, Akshay had a good run with the Priyadarshan comedies too.
Salman & Akshay doesn’t seem to know how to give good interviews, but they seem to have some sort of innate intelligence that lets them navigate through the cut-throat industry very successfully. It cant be just plain luck that they have survived this long in the business.
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local
May 1, 2021
A shoutout to the cinematographer of Uppenna and his brilliance. I loved the way the sea and the seaside have been shot in the movie. Images of the beach, the waves, and the beautiful overhead shots of the bus by the seaside village, coupled with Devi Sri’s beautiful bgm stayed with me after the movie.
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local
May 1, 2021
“accept he is better off playing characters and no longer insisting he should be given lead parts”.
This or he can opt to do main leads in OTT platform. Like Saif, he seems to have a large fanbase on social media, that seems to be impressed with him and his persona.
Also, he wouldn’t have the added pressure of having to cater to the lowest common denominator, like in the movies. And will have the choice of a wider range of projects/ subjects to star in.
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Satya
May 1, 2021
Anyhow, post Khaidi, wasn’t Chiranjeevi undisputed numero uno?
Of course he was. About the raw masculinity part… I don’t think so he alone was the reason. We had our influences and Big B’s influence on Telugu cinema, through NTR’s remakes was a good reason for it. And then we had Rajinikanth whose straight Telugu and dubbed Tamil versions presented him as this untamed bullish protagonist. He was a joy to watch. Chiranjeevi and Krishnam Raju OTOH were more vulnerable. Even in Khaidi he doesn’t look invincible.
I believe Chiranjeevi worked on his strengths and chose not to act in mass films at that point. You can see a conscious effort there, as he starred in comedies like Mantrigari Viyyankudu, Mahanagaramlo Mayagadu and Chantabbai and also dramas like Abhinandana, Vijetha and Challenge. He wasn’t taking the Balakrishna route to star in mindless mass films back then. Somewhere down the line, the mass films made an entry but we still saw efforts like Rakshasudu (grossly underrated), Rudraveena and Aapadbandhavudu to stay out of the image.
I believe personally there are two factors in the surge of the mass film mania during the late 80s in Telugu cinema – K Raghavendra Rao and the imitations of Big B starrers minus the conviction. You know the impact was huge when something like RGV’s Siva (1989, the right time we’re discussing here) was considered an outcast/different. But in fact, it was just a toned down, near silent mass film. That should tell us how ‘loud’ things became. The newer generation heroes gradually made things interesting, except Krishna and Balakrishna who were more of a history class – a reminder of the past stuck here in the present.
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Satya
May 1, 2021
Spandana: To be honest with you, I wondered if we would cross ten. Still it feels great that people wish to comeback and comment, discuss and debate. Makes this more than just a comments section – this blog/wordpress literally teems with life.
Coming to Uppena, I think I should tell how it works for me before expecting others to do so. I really love how they establish the opening with Rayanam’s voice over saying that love must exist only in history as it has no future in the real world. Then later we have a scene where Aasi wishes to have a love story like Romeo-Juliet and Laila-Majnun. So, when the audience is ready to embrace a failure love story (like the recent Colour Photo for example), Uppena turns its tables at the end with a twist which now everyone knows (Wikipedia has a plot summary). And we have a happy ending that’s actually tragic.
That twist just doesn’t feel forced for me personally. I mean look at Rayanam. In the beginning we see him drink tea which was too sweat, and instead of throwing it away, he gulps much more sugar to make the tea taste bland. Or the way he keeps his sister in check but still acknowledges their relation as siblings. He isn’t someone who blindly eliminates a threat, but looks to neutralise it. That makes him more worrisome as a villain. No wonder VJS found him fun to play, and his stiffness as a result feels more like the dormancy of a volcano ready to erupt (esp. at the interval scene).
So, at the end, when Rayanam is unable to answer anything to his daughter Bebamma (Krithi Shetty, who honestly makes Bebamma look and sound like a Disney Princess gone rogue) and remains stoned, I was astonished. This is a threat he cannot do anything to eliminate with all his might. And hence, when he silently retreats and the shot ends there, I started to wonder if we are looking at the end of this man. But, I wished for a better presence. Not that VJS is incompetent, but someone like Prakash Raj or Ravi Shankar (the guy who dubbed for VJS in the film) would have wicked fun with something like this.
Still, in VJS’ rogues gallery, Rayanam is an interesting addition and IMHO shall continue to be. And despite its overall generic-ness (we even get a death song like Rangasthalam that honestly feels out of place), Uppena is defintely interesting as a masala film.
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MANK
May 1, 2021
Anyhow, post Khaidi, wasn’t Chiranjeevi undisputed numero uno?
Nope!, Khaidi was Chiranjeevi’s first lead hero\mass superhit film, but it no way made him the number one.
After NTR shifted to politics in 1983, it was Krishna who usurped his mass hero mantle , and he remained the number one Teugu star till around 1987. The biggest\industry hits of 1984, 85, 86 . like Agniparvatham, Vajrayudham , simahasanam etc. all belongs to Krishna It was the unprecedented success of Pasivadi Pranam in 1987 that made Chiranjeevi the undisputed numero uno and the megastar- that was the title given to him after he topped ‘Superstar’ Krishna.
Chiranjeevi was the first actor to be fully comfortable with the fight & dance routines that had by then become staple of Telugu films. NTR and Krishna looks really awkward while dancing or fighting. NTR was at least a really great classical actor, Krishna, apart from his good looks and his voice, was pretty average at everything else. Krishna-Mahesh Babu is that rare superstar-starson duo, where the son is many times better than his father. Chiranjeevi also looked very different from any of these guys, because till then only actors from a certain community\caste were considered handsome enough to be heroes. And one can go on about Chiranjeevi’s subtle, grounded acting style, but it was really his dancing that made him the megastar. he invented the formula of breakdance + two heroines = superhit, which every other hero followed for more than a decade.
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Aman Basha
May 1, 2021
@MANK: So my hypothesis that like Rajesh Khanna, in the vacuum post Dilip Kumar-Raj Kapoor-Dev Anand, Krishna basically became very popular in a small timeframe between NTR and Chiranjeevi is correct? Only that there wasn’t a change in the type of films made.
Krishna was horrifying as a dancer 🙂 Not to mention, him and Raghavendra Rao imported their brand of crap to Hindi, ala Padmalaya Studios.
This is one gem:
And this was the competition:
No wonder Chiru reigned supreme.
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krishikari
May 1, 2021
I did start by reacting to the movie and then went with the flow of the discussion @spandana be the change? Demanding something of others that we don’t seem to be willing to do ourselves. Is that UC India in a nutshell? Seriously. I think someone should write an essay on this topic. (See what i did there?)
Krithi Shetty, who honestly makes Bebamma look and sound like a Disney Princess gone rogue
lol, @satya so true!
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Satya
May 1, 2021
Krishna, apart from his good looks and his voice, was pretty average at everything else. Krishna-Mahesh Babu is that rare superstar-starson duo, where the son is many times better than his father.
Krishna’s voice is fine but the diction was meh. He is that one actor with limited potential who was at the right place and the right time making the right choices (at least until the 90s). It also helps that the man had a good taste for the genre films Hollywood used to make back then.
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Aman Basha
May 1, 2021
I think the “one man two woman” subgenre of Telugu Cinema started and flourished with Sobhan Babu. I genuinely haven’t seen a film with that man where he didn’t have two heroines, even at his middle age. Amusing parallels with his life, only that the women on screen were nothing like the “other” in real. Always annoys me that Krishna became a bigger star than him, even with all his Hollywood inspirations, since he is a much better and ‘natural’ actor.
I think more than Chiranjeevi’s subtle acting, it’s the sheer irreverence he brought on screen. It’s a joy to watch him dance, fight and do comedy. NTR and Krishna are no match to the electricity he brought on screen. I wasn’t even 5 but the Chiranjeevi fever with back-to-back blockbusters and his political entry was something to see in small town Andhra. He touched the Rajinikanth reverence peak in the Telugu States in the noughties.
One thing I admire about Chiru (and Madhuri) is their ability to turn the most vulgar and double meaning songs into widely accepted chartbusters. At a certain age, it’s shocking to finally understand the meaning of the many Telugu hit songs you danced to as a kid. Particularly every song of Chiru at a time had some double meaning and yet public favorites.
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local
May 2, 2021
“till then only actors from a certain community\caste were considered handsome enough to be heroes.”
As a non-teluguite, this is news to me.
I see the Govinda Chiranjeevi dancing similarity.
Also, there is an earnestness in both of their acting that makes their performances easy to watch. Even when doing the most out-there and ridiculous scenes, they gave it all they have, did it with conviction, and made it look so believable.
Chiranjeevi came as a nobody to the industry became a success and now he has so many of his family members working in films.
Brother,Pawan Kalyan does comedy effortlessly. Even with the language barrier, I recognized his comedic abilities, found him funny, and enjoyed most of his films …tholiprema, khushi, attarindiki..
Son,Ram Charan, though not a personal favorite, is talented. Nephew, Varun TeJ was blah till I watched him in Gaddalakonda Ganesh. The last half hour of that movie where he brings in the waterworks with the beautiful string-heavy bgm is what I live for. Slow-mo shots, closeups of his sad, bearded face, eyes welling up with tears, quavering voice, soaring violin in the background …it had all the drama that I crave for, in movies.
I love the way Telugu films do bgms, Devi SriPrasad especially…generous use of violin, veena, flute. They don’t hold back.
“Krithi Shetty, who honestly makes Bebamma look and sound like a Disney Princess gone rogue.”…true.
I wish Sethupathi had dubbed for himself. I associate his face so strongly with his voice (both very unique) that I kept getting distracted by the dubbed voice.
From naanum rowdy than to master and uppanna. His choices are interesting and different.
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The Ghost Who Walks
May 3, 2021
Firstly, let me state that its great to see the long comment thread, even with all the tangents.
I think there are two reasons for Krishna’s success though, apart from his looks, being at the right time etc. One, In spite of his limited acting talents, he had a nose for good scripts (Good as in what works for the masses). He was the opposite of some one like Shahrukh khan in that sense. Two, he was bold enough to put his money on his judgement of stories. Some of his biggest hits were produced by his home banner, which was not the case with some one like Shobhan Babu who I agree is a more natural actor.
When you look back now, you can clearly see why Chiranjeevi’s success was inevitable. The example given by Aman Basha illustrates the gap between him and some one like Krishna. The below link is from when Chiranjeevi was still coming up and Krishna was the top star already. (Aman Basha’s both examples came in 1989 when Krishna’s stock was waning and Chiranjeevi was already the numero uno)
Trigger Warning: The video is crude as fuck.
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Aman Basha
May 4, 2021
The general tolerance crudity in Telugu movies is something to behold, though even Chiranjeevi crossed that tolerance level with some of his films before Hitler, all of which flopped. I remember BR’s article on Rajnikanth of all the misogynistic films where he puts the woman in place. How surprising it is to learn that they are all remakes of Chiru blockbusters.
Also, I am presuming that Balakrishna, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh and Mohan Babu were all distant second, third, fourth, so on in the packing order? I’d be very surprised if they ever came close to him, let alone replace him. In fact, it points to his dominance that there has been no numero uno since in Telugu.
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Madan
May 5, 2021
Can’t help but post this at the mention of Balakrishna:
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Aman Basha
May 6, 2021
Balayya vs Vijaykanth: who is the meme king?
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Satya
May 6, 2021
I can’t help but think that Balakrishna-audience relationship is similar to that of Sirius Black and Kreacher the elf. Sirius never saw Kreacher beyond the status of a house elf, and Kreacher could never see Sirius as someone beyond his master Regulus’ brother. There is no love there, no compassion, no respect.
Stars get what they give to their fans through the kind of script choices they make. And then there are the filmmakers who say that the fan demands shape a script. This shall never end IMHO. Will it?
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Madan
May 6, 2021
Hard to beat Intrestalla come to think.
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Anu Warrier
May 6, 2021
@Madan…. 😀 I can’t ‘unsee’ that video! Thanks for my morning laughs and my continuing nightmare!
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Aman Basha
May 6, 2021
@Satya: Balakrishna’s fanbase is driven primarily by the TDP. I remember tickets to a Balakrishna film being block booked and distributed by party leaders. There’s also a major caste factor.
I’ve never understood how he gets away with making such bad films, most of which are flops (how many hits has he had since Narasimha Naidu? 4? 5?). Every film is the same thing, with a flashback as this powerful man, of course even without the flashback, he’s not meek like Manickyam or like in Indra (now that was a great factionism movie), two heroines (one of whom is always shockingly young) and ridiculously over the top action.
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