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		Home > Telugu Movie Reviews > Rakhee Pyromaniac Plays Savior Of Women APK | December 22, 2006 Rating: ***.5 (***** Very Good, **** Good, *** Fair, ** Average, * Bad) Cast: NTR, Ileana, Charmme, Manjusha, Suhasini, Brahmanandam, Venumadhav, Brahmaji, Dharmavarapu, MS Narayana, Kondavalasa and Others. Action: Stun Shiva. Art: R. Ravinder. Editing: Shankar. Music: Devisri Prasad. Story: BK Radha Krishna. Screenplay & Direction: Krishna Vamsi. Producer: KL Narayana. Presenter & Cinematography: S. Gopal Reddy. Banner: Sri Durga Arts. Release Date: 22nd December, 2006. Rakhee Rakhee Rakhee Naa Kawasaki - when I heard this song, it didn't make much sense. As NTR (Junior)'s sister in the movie enlightens us all, "Rakhee ante Rakshabandan". So what is the title song a peppy duet? Answer: Rakhee is short for 'Ramakrishna', NTR's character in the movie. But the problem is our Rakhee drives a pulsar, and not a Kawasaki. No problem-that's just a technical issue. The content is what really matters. After a successful bout with Student No. 1, Adi and Simhadri, NTR has been having debacle after debacle. Now it's Krishna Vamsi to the rescue, with another minor problem-he himself needs someone to rescue him after a weird 'Sree Anjaneyam', a not-so-good 'Chakram' and a low-budget 'Danger'-all three of which failed to set the box-office on fire. So the two got together, Krishna Vamsi to show his erstwhile spark for a novel way of direction, and Taraka Rama Rao to show his erstwhile spark for pulling the audiences in. The plot, briefly: Rakhee's sister Gayathri (Manjusha) is burnt to death by her in-laws who are not happy with the dowry they get, and want to get rid of her. Rakhee seeks revenge, not only against them, but all the men who have ever harassed women. And what does he do? You won't believe this, but he burns them all down. How's that for KV's novelty? [Pyromania: The irresistible urge to start fires]. The idea is definitely relevant, the thought is definitely good. But it's not what you say that really matters anymore, as opposed to how you say it. The 'in-law's harassing younger sister' act has been done to death (literally) but we see sparks of Krishna Vamsi's unique style of presentation. That part of the story is close to the 1970s play 'Brides are not for burning' which was made and re-made many times in many movies. There is a conflict, and the 'Hero' has to deal with the conflict. And how does he go about doing that? Burning all the wrong-doers down. Krishna Vamsi uses many of the real-life incidents of sexual harassment against women that got media coverage. The interval is declared with the tag 'Burning Started'. One doesn't realize what he meant, till the second half starts. He talks about a 'Balance of Power', where men need to be scared about punishment before committing an atrocity against the fairer gender. In the beginning, before his sister's wedding, Rakhee's family and the bridegroom's family actually sit and negotiate how much dowry they have to give and how much they can give. This whole negotiation is realistic, although he makes it seem like it's a done thing and people are immune to it. Ileana plays Tripura, who works at a local channel 'Sridevi' channel and fights for upholding the rights of women. Rakhee, on the other hand, doesn't really seem to give it much thought. He agrees to marry his cousin Gauri (Charmee), because his aunt helps their family with financial support to give the dowry for his sister. It was only after tragedy struck his home, that he realizes all the atrocities being committed against women. The long speech in the end is mandatory in movies of 'big stars' (remember Mahesh's speech before the climax of 'Sainikudu?). Performances: NTR performs well, although he has to shed too many tears in this flick. Ileana sizzles in the songs, and looks boring in the normal world scenario outside of exotic locales, wearing normal clothes. Charmee has a really silly role of an extremely dimwitted village belle, which really doesn't amount to much screen time. NTR dances flawlessly, but he really needs to go on to the Atkins diet-a few pounds less would make him look better. But it is interesting that he and his director seem to be sportive about that. Tripura calls him 'Bondam' & 'Fatty', and their track is cute. The songs, including Rangu Rabba Rabba, Zara Zara and Ninnu Chuste, are shot well. If you've seen KV's movies before, then you'll notice all his unique touches in this movie too. The pace, the way he deals with certain characters, etc. Where he surprises us (and not very pleasantly) is that he too succumbs to the whole glorification of the star in the movie. Like all the huge stars in their big banner movies are compared to Gods (Don't believe me? Watch Stalin, Laxmi, Bangaram et all), so is NTR. He is compared to 'Adi Shakti', 'Kalika Devi'-all the female Gods, that's the twist. Finally, NTR kills 50 people, and beats up another fifty people in the 'Climax fight'. NTR, Charmme, Ileana, Sunil, Brahmanandam provide the necessary comedy in the movie, which sadly lacked in NTR's last film, Ashok. Chandramohan and Kota justify their characters. There are some interesting parts. When Rakhee's estranged aunt returns home after many years, Rakhee play-acts the whole sequence, which is situational and generates humor. The scene where Rakhee's sister is being tortured was shot in a way that did not follow a cliché. There are some illogical sequences-the whole track involving Sayaji Shinde playing a minister-he kicks a lady police officer, played by Suhasini Maniratnam (in a refreshing role where she doesn't ham). What could have been a thought-provoking movie turns pettily commercial somewhere in the second half. Conclusion: The story is old-school, the treatment is not which is expected out of Krishna Vamsi. Don't go expecting a KV movie, expect an NTR Jr.'s movie. The commercial elements are fused in together with the commendable message-that women should not be objectified, and not treated like pieces of meat. The message is good...men need to change their attitudes towards women...the whole 'Balance of Power' theory that Rakhee states and that women need to learn to protect themselves. Just wish the glorifying of NTR was a little less (although he did a good job), and the violence not so in-your-face. Inspite of what he says in the movie, Rakhee doesn't justify burning the whole town down. They took the idea of 'Setting the box-office on fire' too seriously. Not a movie for pyrophobics (those afraid of fire). This is one of NTR's best performances, loud and subtle both-as per the demand of the situation.