ALA VAIKUNTHAPURAMULOO (TELUGU) (2020)

This is a regular story that involves two babies mixed up at birth. As anyone could guess, one of the babies (Allu Arjun)  grows up in a middle class household while the other (Sushanth) in an ultra-rich household. The rest of the story is about what destiny holds in store for them.

Yes.. it is a story done to dust ever since stories were invented. 

And Yes.. it follows a predictable path till the very end and is packed with the cliches that we would have seen a zillion times.

Yet.. the film doesn't feel stale due to the writing skills of Director Trivikram who manages to infuse even these regular scenes with an element of freshness and fervour. Here, Trivikram is back in his forte delivering a well written family drama filled with enough entertainment quotient that keeps even the template tropes ticking. He has cooked up a winning recipe for a delicious festival blockbuster that has all the ingredients in near-perfect proportions.

Stylish Star Allu Arjun appears to be in his elements and enjoying himself as he emotes with ease, aces his comic timing, oozes effortless charm and swag that befits his image and dances with relish to the hit numbers. While there are many, the scene when he imitates the dance moves from other actors in the scene set in a boardroom is a stand-out.

Commendable cameos from a bunch of talented stars including   Tabu, Jayaram, Sachin Khedekar and especially, Murli Sharma who outshine their respective roles that are pretty minor as compared to their immense potential. Besides there are many more notable names including Vennela Kishore, Sunil, Nivetha Pethuraj, Rajendra Prasad, Rohini and Navdeep who (dis)appear in blink-and-miss parts.

As one would come to expect from any movie mounted on such huge budgets, the film boasts of superlative technical finesse - in terms of resplendent cinematography by PS Vinod who has captured the proceedings in picture-perfect frames and superb action set pieces choreographed by Ram-Lakshman that make  a pronounced style statement while dialing down the violence meter. Music director Thaman deserves a special mention for providing an energetic soundtrack with foot-tapping numbers which are already chart-busters.

Overall, despite its flaws and the predictability of its template, this is a perfect family entertainer which is a veritable Sankaranti feast presented by the duo of Trivikram and Allu Arjun.

AN ENJOYABLE ENTERTAINER !

RATING -3.5/5

DARBAR (TAMIL/TELUGU/HINDI) (2020)

The GOOD, BAD & NOT-SO-BAD

GOOD

Superstar Rajni - For his undiminished charisma, style quotient and energy through which he fits into the role of a super-cop, when he is almost seventy, including courageously gymming out in all glory. He is a living testimony to the adage that age is just a number and remains the primary reason to watch this otherwise avoidable flick. And.. that is a near impossible feat that he can rightfully claim that only Rajni can accomplish.

Nivetha Thomas - For her commendable performace in a meaty cameo as Rajni's daughter.

Anirudh - For an energetic background score and few good (not great) songs.

NOT-SO-BAD

Yogi Babu - who fares decently with his comic one-liners.

Action set-pieces - While none of it is exceptional, the railway station piece is well choreographed and packs a punch.

Nayantara - She continues to look like a billion bucks and oozes elegance and grace even though she has a nothing role here. While there is a weak pretense to rationalise the semblance of a romance, it is what it is -  at best, a weak pretense, if not entirely phony.

BAD

The Villains - Sunil Shetty and co who are bad because they are not bad-enough baddies to challenge the hero in any meaningful way.

A R Murugadoss - Director ARM appears pretty directionless as he puts up a tepid show with weak writing which is all over the place. Looks like the chart-buster "Summa Kizhi" was actually inspired by a reading of this ragtag script. If not for the Superstar who shoulders this pretty sloppy outing and salvages it to watchable category, this would have been declared DOA - dud-on-arrival.

A DISMAL OUTING !

RATING - 2.5/5

AVANE SRIMANNARAYANA (KANNADA/TELUGU/TAMIL) (2019)

This is a story set in the 80s in a fictional South Indian village of Amaravathi which is reeling under the sinister shadow of a gang of deadly dacoits called Abhiras. The story kicks off in the form of a lost bounty of treasure that the dacoits are after and is hidden from them by a band of visiting theatre artists who get greedy. Fifteen years after, Rakshit Shetty enters the village as the titular maverick cop with malleable morals who is also in pursuit of this lost treasure. Thus begins an epic fantasy tale that is fantastic fun oozing, nay, overflowing with style.

Filled with action, adventure and flamboyance in almost every frame - the narrative utilises the grandeur and richness of movies as a medium to the hilt to exceptional effect. Imagine Jack Sparrow as a cop in a wild western terrain in the search of a hidden treasure, a la Mackenna's gold set to the sensibilities of a Guy Ritchie directorial.  The result is a heady mix that combines multiple genre elements of revenge, drama, action, mythology, mystery, theatre, thriller and irreverent black humour with equal aplomb. 

Leading man Rakshit Shetty and his team of writers weave an incredible story and a grandiose narrative that transports us - lock, stock and barrel - to this fictional landscape of Amaravathi  on  a witty quest to locate this lost treasure. Rakshit Shetty radiates charm and excels in his comic timing as he handles most of the heavy lifting as the lead writer and the leading man. He is ably supported by veteran Achyuth Kumar as an apt sidekick providing perfect foil as well as meaty cameos by Balaji Manohar as the prime antagonist Jayarama and Shanvi Shrivastava.

Composer B. Ajaneesh Loknath’s cooks up a background score to match the quirky proceedings while the cinematography by Karm Chawla captures the unfolding adventure in grand visual tapestries

On the flip side, one has to concede that..

Yes.. It does tend to overdo the style quotient and smarts ..

Yes.. It does feel more than a tad stretched with a run time spanning an overwhelming 186 minutes..

Nevertheless, it is a jolly good ride for the most part as director Sachin Ravi, Rakshit and their team are in fine form delivering their wares in aces in an ambitious venture that is set to expand the horizons of Sandalwood cinema much more than KGF ever did or could.

AN EXUBERANT ENTERTAINER !!

RATING -3.5/5