Vinayakudu - Movie Review

Film: Vinayakudu (2008)
Cast: Krishnudu, Sonia, Suryatej, Poonam Kaur, Samrat, Prem Kumar Patra, Adarsh, Ankitha, Sathya Krishnan, Tulasi, Rakesh Mahankali, Mahesh, Aparna, Murali, Master Mittu, Waheeda, etc.
Script: Sai Kiran Adivi
Cinematography: P.G. Vinda
Music: Sam Prasan
Lyrics: Vanamali, Avinash
Editing: Marthand K. Venkatesh
Executive Producers: Rakesh Mahankali, Jyothi Kiran
Co-producer: Praveen Kumar Patra
Producer: Smt. Saritha Patra
Direction: Sai Kiran Adivi (debut)
CBFC Rating: U
Banner: Prem Movies
Release date: November 21, 2008

Summary:
A big fat love story, like the makers tagged, quite unlike other "fatty" stories.

What's it all about?
Karthik (Krishnudu), a soft, ever-happy kind of guy, comes to Hyderabad for a job interview at Hi-Rise, an ad agency. He gets selected, and in the office the next day, he sees Kalpana (Sonia) and likes her. He's generally not taken seriously by anyone because of his soft-spoken nature and his rotund personality but he's the kind who doesn't take that seriously! Kalpana too doesn't care for him and finds faults with him, due to their initial interactions at work. Slowly though, she starts interacting with him more. Her parents, who leave to USA to visiting her brother's family (Mahesh & Aparna), initiate a matramonial alliance for Kalpana with Rajeev (Samrat). Kalpana meets Rajeev and they both observe that they have a lot of tastes in common. Meanwhile, another thread of a budding relation is seen between Karthik's friend (Suryatej) and Kalpana's friend Sandhya a.k.a. Sandy (Poonam Kaur). At about the same time that Kalpana realizes Rajeev is not for her, she gets closer to Karthik but the hell gets loose suddenly due to a petty altercation between Altaf and Sandy. Eventually, Karthik and Kalpana lose even the friendly relation they have. What's the big fat love story then and how it evolves forms the rest of the story.

Performances
Cast:

Krishnadu, one of the seniors of Happy Days, debuts as the main lead in this film. He has quite an ease in performing, and his role has ample scope for various emotions. However, the characterization, in a way, "limits" him to not show negative feelings much. One could say he's quite successfully executed the soft-natured role within the scope of the characterization. His fitting performance evokes empathy from the audience in some scenes. Though his future as a main lead could be limited, he does promise good performance in general and can thus expect appreciable career nevertheless. Sonia fits in the role of an ultramodern girl who upholds values and relations well. Her role is etched well, and she's quite a natural fit there.

suryateja who acted in Nandanavanam 120 km earlier, appears in a full-length role as the second male lead. His performance is okay for most part, and is good in the boozing scene. poonam is cute and sweet in the role of a friend of Sonia. She has an expressive face that's put to use better in scenes with Sonia. Ankitha, who seems to have lost her charm completely already, appears in the role Shalini, of a career-oriented woman who doesn't care about society or "values". Satya appears as a caring sister of Krishnudu. Presenter Prem Kumar Patra plays the boss of Hi-Rise, the organization where the lead cast works, while yesteryear heroine Tulasi appeared opposite him in a two-minute role in a Pelli Pusthakam like climax. His rather inexpressive face is used effectively for the film. Lanky youth Samrat is adequate as the prospective groom, and Adarsh is natural as an uncaring casanova.

Technical Departments:
The story is not great but the treatment makes the film quite enjoyable. With a story line that has only one essential point, the development generally makes the pace seem slow, and that's what happens to this film too. However, a still appreciable aspect is that the film doesn't drag on; even if a film is just a bit slow, it doesn't really hit the film hard when the film's length itself is just a little over two hours. The screenplay may seem fabricated sometimes but is generally smooth and not nonsensical. Dialogues are enjoyable and impressive through most part of the film. But, how come the censor leaves off swear words in English, such as "a*s" and "b*st**ds"?

D SAI KIRAN ADAVI ebutant handled story, screenplay, dialogues, and direction is here to stay. He has shown a lot of care in executing his scenes, studding them with right dialogues, and leaving no space for much nonsense anywhere through the film. It's clear that he knows what he wants to show, and there are appreciable subtleties in his work that one can note. His handling of emotions, and developing a love track implicitly is remarkable. Visuals are naturally colorful throughout the film and did not need many extra effects. P.G.Vinda's camera work is pleasant and in sync with the film's theme. Picturization of songs was all through montages that were chosen well; the song varaveeNaa... needs a particular mention for the way the director used montages in the song to show the relations developing among the three pairs (Krishnudu & Sonia, Suryatej & Poonam Kaur, Rakesh Mahankali & Ankitha), thereby depicting how each individual is choosing one's priorities of life.

Lyrics are apt to the situational songs. Particularly trendy are the lyrics for the songs The times have changed... ( ham hai Hyderabadi...) and varaveeNaa..., both penned by Avinash who's just one movie old ( Krishnarjuna)! varaveeNaa... is a carnatic classical fusion song with completely English lyrics, probably the first of its kind, for which even the music director Sam Prasan ("Prasanth" of Manodu) needs a special applause. The tunes are generally good, and background score is appreciable too. Editing is okay. Production values of Prem Movies banner (which made Aa Naluguru earlier) are good.

Notable Scenes/Dialogues:

• Krishnudu: " Flyovers avii ivii vacchaayigaa..."
  Auto driver: " vacchinai, konni paDipOyinai kooDaa !" (talking about development in Hyderabad in the last five years)
• A romeo: " How would you like to have your coffee?"
  Waheeda: " Alone!"
• " ee Dokku scooter ammEsi, daaniki konchem money add chEsi secondhand cycle konu!" (A cycling girl overtaking Krishnudu on an old Lambretta, mocking at Krishnudu)
• Sonia: " nuvvu dayyaalani nammutaavaa?"
  Krishnudu: " dayyaalu lEvanukO... kaanee, cheekaTlO dayyaalostE... adE bhayam!"
• Sonia: " Coffee chEsindi nuvvE kadaa?"
  Krishnudu: " baagundaa?"
  Sonia: " naa peLLi choopulaki vacchina vaaLLani tarimeyyaTaaniki idE istaa!"
• Samrat : " Yes cheppaTaaniki endukanta time teesukunTunnaav?"
  Sonia: " No cheppaTaaniki time teesukunTunnaani enduku anukOvu?"
• " vaaLLa mentalities, vaaLLa tastes okaTaitE they live happily ever after ani enduku anTaarE? ...That's such a wrong impression!" (Sonia to Poonam Kaur)
• " yE society gurinchi maaTlaaDutunnaavu nuvvu? 'Prohibition-lO mandu taagitE tappu, prohibition lEnappuDu andarU mandu taagacchu' anE society gurinchaa?!" (Ankitha to Krishnudu)
• Dialogues about the psychology of boys and girls, particularly about girls: " ammaayila psychology antE... pogiDinaa tiDataaru, tiTTinaa tiDataaru!" (Suryatej), " ammaayilu prEmalO paDDaakE overpossessive-gaa feel avutaaru. (Krishnudu: " mari paDaka mundu?") 'nee kharma' ani vadilEstaaru!" (Suryatej), " Expressive-gaa unDaalanTaaru... express chEstE tiDataaru!" (Krishnudu) and many more.
• (Second) Booze scene between Suryatej and Krishnudu.
• Krishnudu's soft-natured reaction when Sonia bashes him up verbally, and in the climax.
• Samrat-Sonia breakup scene.

Bottom Line:

Vinayakudu is a feel-good movie with good dialogues, music, characterization, and decent performances. The slow pace that's typical of Sekhar Kammula school seems to have crept into this film too, but the slow pace is not felt because of aforementioned good factors in the film. Though the story's theme may initially seem like it's beaten up in several other films like Kobbari Bondam or Kithakithalu, Vinayakudu is in a totally different style and has a different story treatment that makes it worth watching. On the whole, those sections of audiences, particularly in the 'A' centers, that like a clean and sensible movie with ample dose of comedy would like the film. Don't have too many expectations because of the cast or crew (or this very review) and you can enjoy the film better!

Review by Pandu

HYD INF RATING 3/5