Shadow Review- Venkatesh Taapsee

After making flops like Kantri, Billa and Shakti with NTR and Prabhas, director Meher Ramesh has now experimenting with Venkatesh for the film Shadow. The Telugu audiences, who have already tasted his flops, thought that he would come up with a gripping subject and would resurrect his dwindling career. Unfortunately, he could not give a hit even with Venkatesh and other stars like Srikant, Aditya Pancholi and Sivaji Shinde. 

The story of the film is almost routine and has nothing new in it. Rajaram @ Shadow (Venkatesh) is the son of a journalist Raghuram (Nagababu), who wants to come out with a breaking story. In this process, Raghuram makes some efforts and joins the gang of a huge mafia gang run by Nana Bhai (Aditya Pancholi). After entering the gang, Raghuram gathers the evidences and informations one after the other and hands them over to his publisher CP (Sayaji Shinde). This information leaks and Nana goes on a killing spree and eliminates the entire family of Raghuram. 

Fortunately, Rajaram skips from the jaws of death and manages to escape from the eyes of Nana and his gang. Later, Rajaram vows that he would take revenge against Nana. Baba (Nazar) brings him up and makes him a full-fledged young man and turns Shadow to kill the members of Nana's gang. Meanwhile, Shadow comes across a powerful police officer named Prathap (Srikant), who is also after Nana's gang and is out to erase the entire mafia gang. He earns the name of an encounter specialist. Though the aim of both Shadow and Prathap are same, the chosen paths are different. 

At this juncture, Rajaram @ Shadow comes to know an interesting point that his sister (Madhurima) is still alive and she too escaped from the carnage of Nana gang. Another twist is that she marries Prathap. Now, what Shadow should do? Stop killing Nana gang and help Prathap to officially erase the entire gang or take revenge himself as he vowed in the beginning? How Shadow's sister escaped from the clutches of Nana? Who brought her up? Will Shadow complete his vow and took revenge against Nana's gang? Answers to all these questions have to be seen on screen.

It is Venkatesh, who has taken the entire responsibility to run the show all through the movie. Though he has tried his best, he could not save the film. The title song has been shot in a trendy manner and the costumes are quite lavish. Few dialogues penned for him have some punch. However, the director failed to fill the intensity in his character. He showed good ease in songs and dance sequences.

Taapsee Pannu, who played the female lead appeared quite romantic and glamorous after a long time. However, she has no scope to perform in this movie. Srikanth is good as a tough police officer in this movie.

Comedy by MS Narayana and Jayaprakash Reddy give a little relief for the audiences. At the same time, Krishna Bhagawan and Vennela Kishore have failed to tickle the funny bones of audiences. The movie had some light scenes only when they appeared on the screen.

Other artists did justice in their respective roles. It is not known why the director kept the spoofs of some hit films like Gabbar Singh and some other NTR films. The selection of villains is very poor in the film. Aditya Pancholi could not do justice as villain in the movie and the audiences will get to see villains like Rahul Dev and Supreet in Telugu films. The director has failed to make use of veteran artistes like Gita in the movie. Madhurima could not get any break once again with this movie.

Prasad Murella's camera work fails to attract the audiences. Though the producer has spent a fortune on the movie, the richness could not be seen on the screen. The lighting, shades and the camera angles fail to help for the success of the movie. Marthand's editing too is poor as the visuals originally were not so good to watch. Thaman's re-recording is just average, but the tunes for the songs are not so attractive and foot-tapping.

Finally, the only one to blame for the failure of the film is none other than the director. The story selected for the movie is outdated and old. At the same time, the movement of the flick is very slow and average. Neither the script of the movie nor the screenplay has any novelty. The director has failed to attract the audiences in any angle. Though the film has a whole lot of senior artists, he has failed to make use of any of them. Leave alone the subject matter of the film, at least the comedy tracks penned are not impressive.

The poor climax, ill-conceived concept, improper cinematography and very poor music (songs) made the entire film unwatchable. The talent of Venkatesh has almost been wasted because of the poor direction of Meher Ramesh. Watch the film if you are a hardcore fan of Venkatesh. Or wait for the DVD.

Shadow Cast And Crew 

Producer: Paruchuri Kireeti 

Director: Meher Ramesh Cast: Venkatesh, Taapsee, Srikant, Madhurima, Aditya Pancholi, MS Narayana, Nazar, Sayaji Shinde, Suman, Jayaprakash Reddy, Subbaraju, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, Rao Ramesh, Surya, Nagababu, Rahul Dev, Krishna Bhagawan, Srinivas Reddy, Vennela Kishore, Chalapati Rao, Nagineedu, Uttej, Supreet, Satya Prakash, Telangana Sakuntala, Gita, and others 

Music: SS Thaman

Released On: April 26, 2013

Read more at: http://entertainment.oneindia.in/telugu/reviews/2013/shadow-review-messed-up-routine-revenge-drama-108489.html#slide150482

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Tadakah - NagaChaitanya and Sunil

Budding actor Naga Chaitanya, a son of Akkineni Nagarjuna, has taken a break for nearly one and half year after the failure of Bejawada. He has teamed with actor Sunil for his latest outing Tadakha (Thadaka). Although it is remake of N Linguswamy's mass entertainer Vettai, it is not a scene-to-scene copy of the original. Director Kishore Kumar Pardasani (Dolly) has adapted it with few changes that reflect the local values and tastes. 

Tadakha is an action comedy with some nice emotional moments and, the brothers and sisters' bonding may make it a complete package for family audience. Naga Chaitanya-Sunil's performances are the main highlight in the movie. S Thaman's music, Arthur A Wilson's Cinematography, Kishore's screenplay and direction, Brahmanandam and Vennela Kishore's comedy are its other attraction. The biggest drawbacks of the movie are predictable story and a bit dragging narration in the second half. 

The director has done a good job in adapting Tamil movie into Telugu version. As I said earlier, Kishore has made some significant changes in his version, which is more humourous and entertaining when compared to its Tamil version. Keeping the sentiments of Telugu audience in mind, he has made some alterations in the second half especially in the characterisation Naga Chaitanya and Sunil. 

Tadakha revolves around the bonding between two brothers. The first half of the movie is quite entertaining with all mass masala elements. Especially, Sunil's comedy keep your mind engaged in this portion. But the film turns boring with some dragging moments in the second half in which the placement of songs and over-the-top stunts will divert the attention of the viewers.

Sivarama Krishna (Sunil) is yellow-livered coward, who always lives in fear. His brother Karthik (Naga Chaitanya) is fearless and aggressive in nature. After the death of their father (Naga Babu), who was police officer, Karthik forces Sivarama Krishna to take up his job. As a cop, Sivarama is made to take on notorious criminal and smuggler Bagga (Ashutosh Rana), who terrorises the city. Karthik helps him to find out what happens when a mobsters locks horns with this coward cop will create a laugh riot in the movie.

aga Chaitanya appears in a very stylish way in the film and his new hairstyle and costumes will set a trend among the youth. As a tough guy, he has given very good performance. Especially in action scene, he is sure to rock the audience. At times, he appears in over-the-top stunts like overtaking a speeding train.

The director has balanced the roles of Sunil and Chaitanya very well. Sunil is a big asset for the film. He runs the show in the first half with his comedy. As a timid police officer, he has also equally done well. He steals the show towards the end. But there is absolutely no chemistry between him and Andrea Jeremiah, which the director should have taken care of.

Heroines Tamanna and Andrea Jeremiah do not have much scope in the movie. Tamanna has better screen presence than Andrea, and she impresses you with her glamour. Her chemistry with Naga Chaitanya is a big asset for the film. She looks ultra hot in the song 'Maaraa Maaraa'.

Tadakha has good production values and S Thaman's music and background are main strength in the technical front. He has composed a couple of hummable romantic tracks. But wrong placement of songs hampers the flow of the movie.

Arthur A Wilson's cinematography is another main attraction in the film. He has captured some of the best exotic foreign locales in Tadakha. His picturisation of songs is a treat to watch on screen.

Gautham Raju editing is neat, but he should have chopped off a couple of action scenes, which appears to be unnecessary in the film. Other technical departments like dialogues, art work, selection of locations and costumes are also commendable and surely add to the beauty of the film.

Tadakha is a good commercial entertainer and the director has nicely adopted the Vettai in Telugu with few changes to suit the tastes of Telugu audience. It has some sentimental scenes to woo family audience. If you have not watched Vettai, don't miss this film.

Tadakha Cast And Crew Producer: Bellamkonda Ganesh Director: Kishore Kumar Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Sunil, Tamanna, Andrea Jeremiah, Ashutosh Rana, Brahmanandam, Vennela Kishore, Raghu Babu, Rama Prabha and Jayaprakash Reddy Music: S Thaman Cinematographer: Arthur A Wilson Release date: May 10, 2013

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Bold Pooja Gandhi in Dandupalya

Pooja Gandhi took a bold decision to star in Dandupalya to resurrect her career when it was on a downhill. For the role, she was asked to shed all her inhibitions and get into the skin of the character. More importantly, the character demanded her to do such scenes that she was never-been part of for five years. And the Mungaaru Male girl bravely faced the challenge and did her best in the role. Rest is the history. The actress' Dandupalya went on to become one of the money-spinning film last year. The raw content and the brilliant performance of Pooja Gandhi became crowd-pulling factors.

Especially, first benchers enjoyed watching Pooja's skin shows and her bold scenes. Her much-hyped dare back scene, though disappointed audience as it was a scene merely lasted for few seconds, was the key factor to attract mass audience initially, but worked out well for the film. Dandupalya, though got lukewarm reviews from critics, got massive response from audience. As a result, the film made wonderful business, which was not expected by even the makers of the film. This made the producer to dub the film in other languages like Telugu and Tamil.

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Prabhas - Baahubali progress

Tollywood hunks Prabhas-Rana ‘Baahubali', is one of the most sensational film that is in the pipeline currently which is creating buzz every day. It’s massive budget, period setting and SS Rajamouli to direct his Chatrapathi star Prabhas has taken the hype of the film to a new level even before the actual commencement of the shoot. Here is an exclusive scoop from APHerald about this most anticipated film.

Prabahas who reportedly shocked everyone that his remuneration is 20cr for his Baahubali is making another sensation now. It is heard that Prabhas is goanna play dual role in the film and even Rajamouli is interested to project him in dual role. Prabhas will act as father and son in Baahubali, and bread look is for father character.

Baahubali story is about son taking revenge for his father’s death. This revenge theme looks straight up the ally of director Rajamouli and he is confident to recreate box office magical formula once again with this film. Let’s wait two more years to enjoy visual treat Rajamouli going to offer for movie buffs.

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ShrutiHasan Cute Pictures

Cute Shruti Hasan pictures.

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Sridevi with her daughters at the Toronto Film Festridevi with her daughters at the Toronto Film Fest

Sridevi with her daughters at the Toronto Film Fest

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Heroine: Kareena Kapoor Average in India, phenomenal business overseas

Kareena Kapoor-starrer 'Heroine' is working wonders in the overseas market. The Madhur Bhandarkar movie, based on the ups and downs in the life of an actress, was reportedly made at a budget of Rs 32 crore.

It released in 42 screens in the Middle East Thursday, and has earned $350,000, with 19 screens still to report the numbers.

In India, Britain and the US, the movie opened Friday.

It registered Rs 7.5 crore earnings in India, in Britain, it made $78,402 from 41 screens, while in the US, 'Heroine' minted $140,000 (it released in 112 screens, and six screens are yet to report the numbers.

"'Heroine' has seen a phenomenal opening in all major international markets. This was a highly anticipated movie and our marketing push has helped pull in massive crowds to theatres. No other female lead has seen such a response in recent years," Amrita Pandey, executive director, Syndication, International Distribution - Studios, Disney UTV, said in a statement.

'Heroine' also features Arjun Rampal and Randeep Hooda in key roles. The movie had a strong buzz around it, and it was heavily promoted across all quarters.

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Shirdi Sai – Movie Review - Nagarjuna

Akkineni Nagarjuna has won the hearts of audience with his brilliant acting as God-man in his previous movies like Annamayya and Srirama Dasu, which were directed by K Raghavendra Rao. After the success of these movies, the King has once again joined hands with the director for his latest outingShirdi Sai. Prior to its release, the film has created quite a buzz and the actor has made sure that his performance meets all those expectations.

Shirdi Sai is a devotional film, which depicts the landmark life episodes of Shirdi Sai Baba. Nagarjuna's excellent performance is the major highlight of the movie. MM Keeravani's music, S Gopal Reddy's beautiful picturisation and Paruchuri Brothers' heart touching dialogues are its other attractions.

A Fakir (Nagarjuna) enters Shirdi and starts rescuing people from evils and troubles by performing miracles. Within no time, the number of his followers increase and he becomes popular as 'Sai Baba'. He stays in a dilapidated masjid. One day, Sai Baba tells that he is leaving his physical body for three days and return after third day. The devotees keep the body safely. An English Officer (Srihari) objects the villagers' act of keeping the corpse and orders to remove it. But they do not allow to remove the body. After the third day, the soul reaches the body and Baba sits to everyone's surprise. His devotees begin to believe him as the incarnation of Lord Dattatreya. What miracles he makes and how he spreads spirituality will form the rest of the story.

Performance: Nagarjuna is a perfect match for the role of Shirdi Sai Baba and he has done a lot of homework to suit the looks and body language of the godman. He has proved that he is the true Shirdi Sai with his radiant eyes, subtle expressions, the pain and joy in his actions. Surprisingly, Sayaji Shinde has done a lighter vein comedy along with Ali and Anant. Srihari, Brahmanandam, Saratbabu, Saikumar, Srikant, Kamalini Mukherjee have given a wonderful performances.

Technical: Cinematographer Gopal Reddy has maintained perfect lighting and joined the VFX techniques at necessary places. Graphic works are also superb. Shravan's editing is very tight. Paruchuri Brothers' dialogues are good at places. Above all, it is Keeravani, who has scored more points in the film with his wonderful music. His background score is good and the DTS mixing is perfect. The choreography of the songs is excellent. The film proves that director K Raghavendra Rao has made a lot of research on Sai's history before penning the script. He never looses grip on the subject. He has proved that his combination with Nag is just memorable forever.

Remarks: You will definitely like the movie. Though you are not a Sai devotee watch the film. It is for sure that you will turn a Sai devotee soon after watching the film. The background score, songs, scenes, dialogues and direction will take to another world of devotion for a period of two hour and twenty minutes. Definitely, Nagarjuna would bag awards and rewards for his performance as Shirdi Sai. Sai Ram.

Cast: Nagarjuna, Saratbabu, Saikumar, Srikant, Srihari, Sayaji Shinde, Kamalini Mukherjee and others

Credits: Dialogues - Paruchuri Brothers; Cinematography - S Gopal Reddy; Music - MM Keeravani; Presents - A Sulochana Reddy; Producer - A Mahesh Reddy; Story, screenplay and direction - K Raghavendra Rao

Banner: Sai Krupa Entertainments Pvt Ltd

Release Date: September 6, 2012

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Nagarjuna's Shirdi Sai bags positive reviews from film critics

Director K Raghavendra Rao's latest venture Shirdi Sai is a devotional movie featuring Akkineni Nagarjuna in the role of Fakhir Sai Baba. The movie has received positive reviews from film critics. Nagarjuna's excellent performance, MM Keeravani's music, Raghavendra Rao's screenplay and narration, and Gopal Reddy's picturisation are its highlights. The film has been rated an average of 3.2 out of 5. Continue to read film critics verdicts.

Oneindia - Ramana's Rating: 3.5
You will definitely like the movie. Though you are not a Sai devotee watch the film. It is for sure that you will turn a Sai devotee soon after watching the film. The background score, songs, scenes, dialogues and direction will take to another world of devotion for a period of two hour and twenty minutes. Definitely, Nagarjuna would bag awards and rewards for his performance as Shirdi Sai.

Super Good Movies' Rating: 3.5
A huge round of applause for Nagarjuna for taking up this role which needs a serene look after having worked on various other aspects, it is good for all those who are completely into spirituality of Sai Baba without any expectations.

Times of India - Karthik Pasupulate's Rating: 3
Nagarjuna seems to have made a conscious effort to look the part, work on his voice modulation and underplay the dialogue delivery. It's a performance that's more honest than emphatic. The writing proves to be a stumbling block as the lines just don't have that effect. Forced comedy tracks involving Sayaji Shinde look mediocre at best. It isn't a film that will douse you with that feeling of divinity, but makes for a one time watch. How much you like this film might just be a matter of how staunch a devotee of Sai Baba you are.

IANS - Rating: 3
The incarnation of Nagarjuna into Shirdi Sai Baba comes as a breath of fresh air for his fans and Sai devotees alike. Far different from regular cinema with cliched performance, run-of-the-mill storyline, director K Raghavendra Rao's "Shirdi Sai" takes you on a spiritual journey of self-actualization, purity and sanctity.

India Glitz - Review
K Raghavendra Rao has not achieved anything hail worthy by making a film on the legend of Shirdi Sai. The biggest treat comes, however, in the form of Nag, whose appropriate body language and serene facial expressions, together with his exudation of child-like innocence, all deserve a standing ovation!

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Srimannarayana movie review - BalaKrishna

When you saw the 52-year-old Balakrishna on television, with two heroines half his age, on either side of him, all squeezed tightly in a two-seater couch, at a function to celebrate the 'success' of the movie's music, you can take a guess what he would be up to in his film. All through the film as one saw later, the two heroines vie with each other for the actor's attention even as his hands take all the liberty they want with them. All this, while he is after a bank password to get retrieve the Rs 5,000 crore meant for farmers welfare, which is illegally transferred to their account by a set of goons.

Story Line:
Kalki Narayana Murthy (Vijay Kumar) is a man of noble intention to serve the poor. He seen as a social activist who fights for the welfare of farmers. He also happens to be Srimannarayana’s father and he forms a Jai Kisan Trust for the welfare of farmers. Public responds in a big way to this initiative and the fund receives donations to the tune of 5000Crores. Bank officer Rajan Mudaliar (Kota Srinivasa Rao) , Corporate Hospital chief Srikar Prasad (Nagineedu) and IG Marthand (Rao Ramesh) also support the initiative.

Kalki Narayana Murthy son Srimannarayana (Balakrishna) is an exact photocopy of his father. He is a journalist by profession. He works for a television channel and unearths a couple of scams. But the goons gang comprising of Minister Bylu Reddy (Jayaprakash Reddy) , Harshad Kotari (Suresh) and Pulikeshava Reddy (Supreeth) loses a lot of money because of Srimannarayana’s activities. The goons illegally transfer the money to themselves and also kills Narayana Murthy mysteriously and even manage to put Srimannarayana in jail by making him an accused in the crime.

Srimannarayana is in jail, but he is itching to expose the real criminals. And he takes the help of Swapnika (Parvathi Melton), a rival from a different channel. Srimannarayana's mission is not only to get the password of the bank account into which the huge amount was siphoned off, but also to eliminate each of the gang members. But how can he do that when he is lodged in a jail in the Cherlapalli jail?

There are interesting twists to the story as Srimannarayana is shown making full use of the latest technology right from the beginning of the movie. Don't complain about his costumes. They are loud. But that comes with being Balakrishna. At least, Isha Chawla who plays Bhanu, his fiancee, could have made more of an effort to look better in the songs. Perhaps, even Parvathi Melton had no choice in her wardrobe.

Positives:
Balakrishna is good in the role of an angry journalist. He has done well in the emotional scenes and his dialogue delivery is impressive as always. His pre-interval costume in white robes is good. Isha Chawla looks good and has sufficient oomph to attract the masses. She has good potential as an actress and will go a long way in the industry if she takes care of her career well.

Comedy scenes between Balakrishna, Parvati Melton, Duvvasi Mohan and Isha Chawla are a major highlight for the film. Dialogues for these episodes have been cleverly written and the hidden double meanings will work with the masses.

Vijaykumar is decent. Kota Srinivasa Rao, Jayaprakash Reddy and Rao Ramesh are good. Nagineedu does not have much to do but he turns in a dignified performance. Krishna Bhagawan and M.S.Narayana have a few good moments between them.

Concept of the film and basic story line has appeal. Balakrishna’s dialogues on scams and the CBI evoked a good response from the public. The last song “Aaru Adugula” is good and has been shot well.

Negatives:
Care should have been taken with respect to Balakrishna’s wigs and costumes in songs. Also, there is no justification in the story for Balakrishna to appear in various costumes except for the Narasimha Swamy look.

Parvati Melton looks uncomfortably thin, almost anorexic. She is a major turn off and her glamour has all but disappeared. She needs to put on some weight immediately.

The second half of the film and the climax are weak points. Climax in particular is highly cliched and does not bring about any interest in the film. Also, the CBI does not seek to investigate the destination account to which the 5000 Crores were transferred. It is a matter of simple logic to checkout the account to which money was transferred illegally.

Some scenes where Balakrishna moves in and out of the jail with ease look silly.

Technology:
There is no novelty in the Story of the movie, director Ravi Chawali follows a time-tested formula but made sure that there are ample commercial elements that satisfy the thrust of masses and fans. He projected Bala Krishna in the right way and extracted powerful mass performance. Screenplay of the movie is predictable which became an hindrance in the flow of the movie. Direction is good in parts.

Surrender Reddy’s cinematography technique is good. The songs composed by Chakri suited Balayya’s image but to normal audience, they might be a bit outdated.

Ravi Chavali does not impress too much with his direction. He has managed to do a good job in a few scenes but overall, better care should have been taken. He has not pulled off the emotional aspects of the story well.

Is your Penny worth for it:
The first half of the movie began on a slower note and picked pace from the pre interval scene and second half is good with ample mass elements required by Balayya fans. A slightly more gripping screenplay would have added weight to the movie. The movie goes well with fans especially Balayya’s looks and energy and it will be okay for normal audience. The concept of farmer welfare will also appeal to some. A better second half and a more interesting climax would have helped.The box office success of the movie depends on how masses receive it.

Banner: Yellow Flowers Banner
Presenter: RR Movie Makers
Cast: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Isha Chawla, Parvati Melton, Vijay Kumar, Suresh, Vinod Kumar Kota Srinivasa Rao, Jaya Prakash Reddy and others
Cinematography: T.Surender Reddy
Art: Nagender
Editing: Goutham Raju
Music: Chakri
Producer: Ramesh Puppala
Story-Screenplay- Dialogues-Direction: Ravi Chavali
CBFC rating: A
Released on: 30-Aug-2012

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