August 02, 2009 Anjali
Rating - ***.5
Cast: Ramcharan, Srihari, Kajal, Mumait Khan, Sharath Babu, Rao Ramesh, Brahmanandam, Suneel, Surya, Sameer, Sekhar, Kim Sharma, Saloni, Hema and others.
Action: Peter Hein & Ram-Laxman.
Art: Ravinder.
Banner: Geetha Arts.
Cinematography: KK Senthil Kumar.
Dialogues: M. Ratnam.
Editing: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao.
Music: MM Keeravani.
Story: V. Vijayendra Prasad.
Styles: Rama Rajamouli.
Presenter: Padmasri Allu Ramalingaiah.
Co-Producer: BVSN Prasad.
Producer: Allu Aravind.
Screenplay, & Director: SS Rajamouli.
Release Date: July 31, 2009
The focus should be on fiction rather than cultural, historical or physical elements. Otherwise your concentration wavers to gravity-defying falls (people cannot meet mid-way if fallen at different moments), culture (400 years ago princesses in Rajasthan did not sit in a gathering with their heads uncovered and did not practice bow-n-arrow with the commander-in-chief (that happens in Troy) and reminisces of Jodhaa Akbar and 300. But then again, the moments make up the movie. The magic is in the details.
Magadheera is perhaps the most-awaited Telugu flick of the year and the hype is phenomenal. There is half a century of legacy and at least 35 years of hard work by various family members of the main lead and the maker. And keeping in mind recent political news-making events, everyone is curious. On top of that, the maker has never really disappointed the audience in terms of the entertainment quotient.
Bhairava is from the warrior clan and protector of the army and princess Mitra Vinda. Rana Billa is Mitra's cousin and wants to marry her and be the King. A contest between Bhairava and Rana Billa ensues that Bhairava wins, but the King requests him to reject the princess' hand as the warrior clan does not lead a long life, dedicating their lives to protect the kingdom. Mitra is heartbroken.
Sher Khan with the help of Rana Billa invades the kingdom, but sees Bhairava's courage and skill where he kills a 100 people single-handedly to protect the princess and is won over. But Rana Billa kills her and Bhairava jumps with her, dejected at not having told her his true feelings before their death.
In the present Harsha is a bike racer who falls for Indu with a single touch and not even seeing her face. A roller-coaster romance later, Ranadeep, her cousin, intrudes and whisks her away to his fort. Indu thinks Harsha killed her father and Ranadeep knows of his past life through a sorcerer. Harsha remembers everything and proceeds to save Indu, and is helped by a fisherman, Solomon who was Sher Khan in his past life.
The movie moves fast, never really slacking in pace. The scale and magnitude of the movie, it being a big-budget part-period and part-present magnum opus should ideally have experienced actors. But the protagonists are mainly newbies, with Ram Charan taking on such a role in his second film and Kajal also just a few films old and Dev Gill as Rana Billa/Ranadeep, no idea.
The look is flawless, even though history is defied. Costumes are good, aesthetics are actually Rajamouli's best yet, getting a right balance this time. Their looks or the rest of the characters in the period part, the set work and cinematography, background music and stunts are all without glitches.
Performance-wise, the kids (yes, kids) are raw but the director cleverly manages to create auras around them and keep dialogues to minimum. There are races, fights, tears, blood and heartbreak. In the first half, which is the present, similar patterns follow. It's difficult to carry off complex roles and Ram Charan just about manages. Kajal does a better job playing girl-next-door but looks the part of a princess.
Dev Gill performs to his capacity, but he does not have the presence Rajamouli's villains usually inflict. Srihari as Sher Khan looks his part, but plays Solomon to perfection. Chiranjeevi does a cameo after the Bangaru Kodi Petta song, where he says something lost in whistles and covered in papers, but a younger Chiranjeevi comes and does his 'break dance' (forgot how funny that was) drill. Last time it was Senior NTR recreated in Yama Donga, this time Chiranjeevi.
Coming to music, not great. Two songs-the first remix where the choreography is pretty good and the Dheera Dheera number in the period drama stand out. The final rolling tracks song is fun, and Om Shanti Om type all cast and crew coming and waving and even doing a little step with the lead pair. Rajamouli's focus was on delivering an entertaining flick and he has succeeded again. There is little comedy and the climax looks like they were hurrying it up in the editing room, and the music is not Kreem's best but otherwise the movie is watchable and breezy overall.
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