V P

Profoundly and proudly unintelligent, idiotic, pornographically violent, devoid of any semblance of intelligent acting or writing/dialogue. Like many other recent blockbusters, just a collection of extravagant 'action' scenes purely for spectacle, if you define action as one sided, the 'hero' is superhuman and there is no real fighting as such, just gratuitous and easy slaughter. Add to this what has come to replace acting - all 'actors' speak in the same tone mouthing inane lines with facial 'expressions' that are just contortions showcasing constipated comical rage. Absolute, pure, expensive, garbage. Have to give one star because less is not allowed.

I am not a fan in general of Telugu movies, I find them persistently focused on appeasing the lowest denominator/fanatic fan bases of the prevailing stars and their dynasties (you know who they are). This is understandable since movies are ultimately a business just like any other product in the market place, they are meant to make the maximum profit possible which requires tailoring them to the tastes or conditioned preferences of the majority. Where the Telugu film industry seems to be exceptional is that they do this (making movies to profit from star worshippers) almost to the exclusion of any other type of cinema, K Vishwanath being the only major exception. I am always looking for a Telugu movie that can prove me wrong (C/O Kancherapalem was the last one to do that recently) , that there are signs, albeit meager, of intelligent courage in the Telugu movie industry, that there are more creators in the mold of K Vishwanath and maybe even RGV 1.0, but I am more than often disappointed. Long preamble to say that I was looking forward to Ranga Maarthaanda and I desperately wanted to like this movie. But once again, disappointment. The idea was good, selection of the actors was good (although I am not a fan of Prakash Raj), casting Brahmanandam in a mold breaking role was admirable, then I run out of good things to say. Here's my problem - 1. The defining goal of this movie seems to be to incite sentimental tears from the audience at any cost, in fact the whole movies seems like a disjointed collection of scenes optimized to activate sobbing, and they do if you are not vigilant enough to sense the gaps in logic, even the movie's own internal logic. 2. Krishna Vamshi shows intelligent restraint in the broad characterization of key characters, the kids are not shown as cartoonish one dimensional ungrateful creatures (as in Baghban and countless other movies showing the noble never at fault parents being ill treated by the always at fault selfish children). However that characterization then is not matched by what you would expect to be a logical counterpart response in the characterization of the parents. The parents seem to be hell bent on being martyrs, taking offense that is disproportionate to what is meant. The kids are shown to have good intentions, self-reflective, capable of remorse, and their worst is that they made honest mistakes, insensitive and self-serving yes but not in any way malicious. The parents' reaction to every offense is to blow it out of proportion and declare martyrdom, as if they have decided that they have to play the victim at any cost (because the story's agenda requires them to be), even at the cost of the truth or their children's love. This dissonance is too much and comes across as lazy at best and dishonest at worst. I expected better. One scene that stood out honestly (and I think Krishna Vamshi and the actors shone here) was the one in the hospital with the two friends reciting Karna - Duryodhana dialogues, that came across as abjectly natural and nuanced, burdened with a silent despair that has no remedy. I admire Krishna Vamshi's intentions in making this movie, but I wish the standards of the executional and story logic were up to the standards of his intentions. A missed opportunity.