Kalyanram as Sivakasi in Vijayadasami

Vijayadasami is based on Tamil film Sivakasi starring Vijay and Asin. Sivakasi was one of the Perarasu, Vijay combo hits in Tamil. Sivakasi came a few years ago. Vijayadasami is almost a scene-to-scene copy of the original.

Vijayadasami is a family story with some mass elements. Sivakasi (Kalyanram) is a welder. He runs away from home during his childhood after being beaten up by his dad. He goes back to his native in the present only to find that his brother Durga Prasad (Saikumar) is treating his mother and sister very badly. Instead of revealing who he is, Sivakasi uses his brains in making the lifes happy of his sister and mother, and brings a change in his brother.

Kalyanram did well in his role. However, it felt that he was better in Atanokkade than this film. He is successful in keeping the Sivakasi role lively.



Story is rehashed version of several old films. First half of the film has nothing to offer to the actual plot. Actual story is only in the second half. First half is filled with songs and fights, typically a song and a fight pattern.


Music by Srikanth Deva is more like noise than music. Special effects in the film are good and especially the way they are used in the action scenes are nice.

Samudra makes a short appearance in the introduction scene of the hero. Overall, it is just about an average flick. It is a family story narrated in old fashioned style with some mass elements added. The film has very good chances in B,C centers.

Meera Jasmine as Aishwarya in Yamagola Malli Modalyindi

In Tollywood most of the films that came with Yama backdrop tasted success. But this is the first time ever that two films with Yama Dharmaraju concepts released in a span of week viz. Yamadonga and Yamagola Malli Modalyindi. Yamagola has Srikanth, Venu, Reema Sen, Meera Jasmine in the lead and veteran actor Kaikala Satyanarayana playing Yama Dharmaraju. Novel point that no Yama based films touched is that in Yamagola, the director touches the grandsons of Yama Dharmaraju and Chitraguptudu played by Srikanth and Venu.

The story in short is - Aishwarya (Meera Jasmine) is born into a wealthy family. Her birth brings all happiness, riches, name and fame to the family. But, the tragedy in her horoscope is that she would die at the age of 28. At the Yamaloka, old Yama and old Chitragupta want to retire from their duties. They send their grandsons Jr. Yama (Srikanth) and Jr. Chitragupta (Venu) to Earth on an assignment. The duo has to take out the life of Aishwarya. While Jr. Yama falls in love with Aishwarya, his friend goes flat for a lady cop Vyjayanthi (Reema Sen). It is against the sanctity of love to kill the girl. At the same time, it is against Yamadharma to save the girl. What do they do? Which wins at the climax? Love or Yamadharma? It forms the crux of the movie.

Tata Birla Madhyalo Laila fame Srinivasa Reddy attempted a comedy film. In parts the film feels good and few episodes are entertaining. However, the overall feel is missing.

Srikanth brought full justice to his role as Jr. Yama. He impresses with good comedy timing. Same is the case with Venu who did Jr. Chitragupta. Although, at times, he overacted. Meera Jasmine and Reema Sen did not have much scope except that Reema Sen entertains in one song that has NTR songs.

Satyanarayana's role as Yamadharmaraju is highly commendable. Despite aging, he performed naturally. Interestingly, the screen Yama also gets old as per the story. For Chitragupta, graphics of late Allu Ramalingaiah were used. Krishna Bhagawan is impressive as narada. However, major share of the vulgar dialogs are uttered by Narada in the film. Barring those dialogs, Brahmam penned decent comedy dialogs for the film.

The computer graphics are good. The scene in which Kamal Hassan as Bharateeyudu entering the Hell and later sent to Heaven is a good watch.

If you have already seen Yamadonga, you will be disappointed with the Yamaloka sets in Yamagola. Mass audience might like the movie. Second half sufferes with narration. It can be considered a timepass film, as parts of it are entertaining.

Krishnavamsi's Chandamama

Krishnavamsi strum the right chords this time. Chandamama turned out to be a cool, clean, breezy entertainer. The film falls into Krishnavamsi styled family drama. Positive things in the film are good narration, right mix of all elements, KV's style, village backdrop, soothing music by Radhakrishna, superb performances by lead cast, strong technical support and beautiful hampi locations.

Story is about one Ranga Rao (Nagendra Babu) and his daughter Mahalaxmi (Kajal). Ranga Rao is much respected person in his native place. Mahalaxmi finishes her education in City and returns to village. She is then engaged to Dorababu (Siva Balaji) from the same village. However, there is a problem for Mahalaxmi to marry Dorababu.
Navadeep, Siva Balaji did their roles very well. As required by the character, Navadeep induced full josh in his role. He is apt in the flamboyant and care-a-damn attitude. Siva Balaji is apt in his own role. He under played his character very nicely and proves the kind of potential he has. Kajal looked lovely and she performed content. Sindhu Menon character is naughty and at times, loud. She did her role to content.

Ahuti Prasad is the one who actually steals the show. With his village dialect, he simply rocked and the audience will surely go for all laughs. Radha Kumari as Ahuti Prasad's mother is apt in that role prompting Ahuti Prasad to always say 'Aada Pethanam.. bodi pethanam'. Their sequences are good. Nagendra Babu is apt in the role of Ranga Rao who demands respect from the entire village yet he becomes like a kid with his daughter.



Human emotions are nicely tapped. Especially he hits the right chords with depicting father and daughter. The scene where Nagendra Babu looks at her like she is 10 years old when she is actually 20 is nicely conceived. Unlike his previous films there isnt much prelude to how the lead pairs fall in love.

First half of the film is extraordinary. With three beautiful songs (Chengu Chengu, naalo voohalaku, bugge bangarama), time just flies off. Actual story begins in the second half. There is more than a twist in the second half that leads towards the lovers uniting. But the second half feels a bit lenghty. It is not just a feeling but even by watch second half is longer compared to the first half. Songs in second half are okay.

A few minutes in the second half could have been trimmed. For example, the prelude to Regumullole song with family anthakashari event and Nagendra Babu's poetry on Chandamama does not add any value to the script but are just few joyous moments in the family entertainment. But overall, this is not felt as every thing falls in right place. Climax comes at the right time and does not take much time before the film concludes.

Hampi and house set erected at Jayabheri estates are two locations where majority of the film is shot. Village outdoors is moslty at Hampi. House interiors and exterior surroundings are the sets at Jayabheri estates.

Music by Radhakrishna is very good. The songs are soothing and at times foot tapping. Jhats and Alaps by Radhakrishna are nicely utilized by the director at right places. His jhat in Nalo Asalaku song, imitating Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, is excellent. All the songs are composed nicely. Asha Bhosle's Nalo Asalaku stands out.

Puri Jagannath's Hello Premistara

Hello Premistara is produced by Puri Jagannath and Dhil Raju. Naturally the expectations are high coming from two successful film makers. The film directed by debut director Raj Kumar. The film reminds of Ajit starrer Vali. Difference from this film being that heroine in Hello Premistara is not aware of the fact there is a look alike of the hero.

Aravind (Sairam Shankar) hails from Kolkota and works in a cellphone company Air Talk. It so happens that he falls in love with a TV anchor Nandini (Sheela), who runs the show titled Hello Premistara! Suddenly, one Arjun (Sairam Shankar in dual role) appears on the scene. By hook or crook Arjun wants to become Aravind. Why? and if he succeeded? Watch the plot on big screen.

It wont be an exaggeration to say that the performance by the lead pair is the highlight of the film. Sairam Shankar is very good in both the shades as Arjun and Aravind. He is at ease with both the roles and has certainly matured a lot in all the departments such as action, dances and dialog delivery.

Story being very similar to Vali is kind of a minus for this film. Even though the takings are novel, the film will surely remind of Vali and hence the plot becomes predictable. Screenplay is good in the first half but slogs in the second half. Director Rajkumar concentrated much on focusing the hero and his histrionics than other aspects. Comedy is not given much prominence.

Music by Chakri is a great asset to the film. A couple of songs are good. Particularly ninna monna yedalo levu… is very good. The song is also well pictured on screen. Stunts by Ram Laxman are average. Cinematography is good. Dialogs provided by Rajasimha are average and lacks punch. Editing is ok.

Happy Days is nothing but College days

College days are the most Happy Days. Graduating from college is the end of Happy Days but beginning of purposeful Days : is a dialog from Sekhar Kammula's directed Happy Days. As it goes, Happy Days is about a bunch of college going guys and girls in the college - each with a character, attitude and background. That is pretty much about the story. So, what is new? Sekhar Kammula proves that question wrong and comes up with an excellent presentation of the same in his own style.



Into the details: The film opens with all the lead characters joining CBIT Engineering college. They all bond during the ragging time. What goes on through their lives form the rest of the film. Values of friendship, transformation from naughty to being resonsible, love budding from friendship, college egos etc are nicely portrayed.

First half of the film focuses on establishing the characters. Relations start building up. By second half, all the characters and relations are established. Second half is the best part in the film where the film touches all nodes. It is hillarious at times, funny at times, emotional at times and touching at times. The narration is excellent. It is a good feeling that one will carry out of the theater. Credit totally goes to the director. The narration is nicely knitted. Emotions are nicely balanced. It is all in all a good show by Sekhar.

There are few things however that do not fit in the film. Such realistically going film has a cricket match with gimmicks. Cricket match itself is short, quick and fits the story. But the way the ball makes random jumps before hits the stumps and also creating a 'boundary bat' are unfit in the context of this film. Similar are the chemical compounds that Tyson character creates.



Nikhil is very energetic and his accent is hillarious at times. It is tough to miss Nikhil in the songs. Such is his energy. He is at total ease with his character. Varun Sandesh, though at times resembled Sidharth, is very good in his role. He played his role well balanced. Even though all four guys are leads in the film, it is Varun's character that gets maximum footage. In fact, he is the one who narrates the entire film. He has done total justice to his role. Rahul is the most softest of all but bold. His love for a senior and the approach he takes in gaining his love is done nicely. Couple of scenes where he responds to his friends saying 'it doesnt matter what he did, he is still our friend' are very touching. Some of his dialogs will surely deserve claps from the audience such as 'ishtam, bhayam oke dhaggara undavu', 'entha chesian vadu mana friend ra' etc.

It is tough to rate which one of the lead did the best because all of them played their roles as per the requirement. Recognition goes to Nikhil and Rahul based on their characters in the film and Varun for his leading through the film. Vamsee plays a guy who cannot even take getting 2nd rank in the college. His love for a disloyal girlfriend makes him blind for the friendship. He is apt in his role. Tamanna is beautiful and played her role perfect.

Music by Mickey J Meyer is excellent. Thanu leka song that comes as parts, situationally, is very well composed and fits the mood very well. Lyrics add more value. All songs are nicely visualized. Editing by Marthand K. Venkatesh is good. Camera by Vijay is very good. The movement is smooth and every frame came out like canvas. The way the locales are captured in Araku is extraordinary. Especially the camera coming out of the sand dune and turning on the 8 people sleeping on the beach and goes back in again is just an example of the craftsmanship.

Chiranjeevi's son Ramcharan Teja in Chiruta

Chiruta released with huge expectations. Why not? Megastar Chiranjeevi's son is making debut and that too directed by Puri Jagannath who has been rewriting the box office records with his recent films. So, what is Chiruta up to? Unfortunately, the movie does not meet the expectations. Barring Ramcharan Teja (dances, looks and performance), some part in the second half and Mani Sharma's numbers, the film offers nothing.

Chiruta definitely served one purpose though - launch pad for Ramcharan. Though the film might not impress, Ramcharan impressed in all departments. His looks, costumes, dances, dialogs, timing, fights.. what not.. he is good in every thing. He shows lot of energy in songs. Grace and energy are two different things. Ramcharan showed abundance of both of them in the songs. On a side note, most of his histronics, expressions and body language resembled Pawan Kalyan.

Into the details: Ramcharan (Charan) goes to jail in his childhood for a crime he has not commited. He does it intentionally to save his mother. When he comes out of the jail after 12 years, he moves to Bangkok working for a travel agency.

One wonders if the film is actually directed by Puri Jagannath. First half is mediocre. Songs seem to pop up frequently even though there are only 6 songs. Good thing is that song arrival can be identified immeidately. (A few shots of the upcoming song are interleaved with the song leading sequence). Few songs and few fights, and nothing else runs in the first half. Dharmavarapu Subramanyam's liners come as a bit of relief. Second part of the second half is what makes the film better. After Charan's narration of his story to the heroine, the film gets content and wraps up with an Apocalyptic styled Climax.

Interestingly, there is not much comedy in the film, which is not usually the case in Puri Jagannath's films. Even though Ali, Brahmanandam and MS Narayana were present, nothing much came out them. Usually, in previous Puri's films, either MS Narayana or Ali had good track. In this film, Ali appears as Nachimi but gets very few laughs. Dharmavarapu's dialogs had some comedy though.

In the cast, Neha Sharma is okay. Most of the movie, she had short clothing. Prakash Raj was content in his role. Though his character started out monotonous, the dialogs between him and his daguther (Neha) will get applauds. Thanikella Bharani, Asish Vidhyardhi does not have much scope but did their roles to content.



Overall, this served as Ramcharan's launchpad showcasing his talents. Puri's mark is missing though. It can be seen only for Ramcharan's performance.

Venkatesh as Ram in Tulasi

As the makers and the hero referred to the film, Tulasi is an attempt to blend faction, action, love, family drama, emotions, sentiment and what not. A typical formulaic film in a pakka commercial format yet portraying Venkatesh in a powerful role is achieved by the director Boyapati Srinu. This is Boyapati's second film. He is surely successful in presenting the hero, with the screenplay and good emotions in the film but on the flip side are - too much violence, too many characters (villains) in the second half, and not much importance to other characters other than the lead.

Run wise, the film has very strong chances of turning into a hit. ( There is a sentiment that the range of a Venkatesh's film depends on how many times he cried. And he does that about 6 times in this film :) ).



Going into the story, Tulasi Ram (Venkatesh) comes from a faction background and he is intolerant of injustice. He does not mind getting into action if he is moved. His wife is pretty upset about his attitude and they both split. After 5 years, Tulasi moves into the same apartment where his wife lives. Why? Why after 5 years? and What upset his wife? Watch the film on screen for the plot.

The rest of the cast just had some role and they did their part to content. Ramyakrishna and Uttej as friends did their roles good. Ali, Narsing Yadav generated good comedy.

There is one particular character that needs special mention. It is Master Athulith. He played son to Tulasi in this film. He is excellent in his role. It is the scenes between the son and the father that are core to the emotional part of the film.

Story is pretty formulaic and in typical old successful films format. Boyapati Srinu is successful with his screenplay that keeps the audience engaged. Especially the way he has moulded some of the scenes - scenes between Nayana Tara and Venkatesh in the flashback episdoes, scenes between Venkatesh and Master Athulith, scenes between Master Athulith and Nayana Tara - is extraordinary. It is these emotions - of joy and sorrow - that the director is very successful in portraying. On the other hand, there is too much of violence in the film.


Camera work of Bala Murugan is good and editing by Marthand K. Venkatesh is crisp. Stunts by Ram Laxman, Kanal Kannan are just okay. Devisri dished out superb music. Especially the songs Vennelintha , Nee Kalla thothi, Miyya Miyya songs are very good. Shirya mesmerizes in Chuku Chuku song. Even though Devisri's re-recording is excellent at times, it coul dhave been better at times.