Musing #24: From Arjun to Mahesh and now to VENKATESH...

I sure have come a LONG way from last year October when i watched Desamuduru, my first ever Telugu film. Since then, i have hopelessly fallen in love with Allu Arjun, admired Mahesh Babu, watched movies of Prabhas & Siddarth...Have become so immersed in the Telugu film world that now, Telugu songs are a regular on my daily playlist, I watch Telugu movies by the dozen, order them online after scouring all the local shops for them, visit Indiaglitz-Telugu section every few days, converse in Telugu with my family even though it annoys them...now comes the next wave of craziness...Venky frenzy!

Prior to past weeks, I have heard of Venkatesh but I have only watched him in Super Police, the tamil version and what i mainly remember about it is the songs, especially the title song...Anyway, that was ages... ages ago!





Namo Venkatesa- first Venkatesh Telugu movie i watched...wasn't that awesome but they had Arya 2 songs in there and i found Venkatesh's acting really good...think this was 2 weeks ago. after that i had my exams, so nvr really payed attention. Last Thurs (29Apr), exams were over...since then, Venky Frenzy's in full force.. I have been on youtube and megavideo for nearly 10-12 hours a day, watching Venkatesh movies!!!! It's been a week, and I'm yet to feel tired (though my eyes are starting to protest by becoming so dry:()...


Venkatesh, what a guy man!!!!!


Such impeccable comedy sense and awesome acting, be it sad, happy, serious characters....great actor! Since then, i have watched


1. Namo Venkatesa
2.Chintakayala Ravi
3.Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule
4.Tulasi
5.Lakshmi
6.Sankranthi
7.Subhash Chandra Bose
8.Gharshana
9.Malliswari
10.Suryavamsham
11.Jayam Manade Raa
12.Vasantham
13.Nuvvu Naaku Nachav
14.Kalisundam Raa
15.Pavithra Bandham
16. Chanti


..most of them were without subs, but cos many had Tamil versions, i could follow...and the list is gonna grow! I shall now look forward to his movies as well :)..I especially liked Sankranthi, Chintakayala Ravi, Lakshmi, Chanti and many others on this list! Gharshana, though of course, Surya looked more hot in the tamil version, I felt Venkatesh did an awesome job too...
I could probably yak and yak about him for each movie but in order not to bore, i shall just share SOME of the best Venkatesh movie moments :

1. Nuvvu Naaku Nachav-
the Brahmandam-Venky scene towards the end...where Brahmandam is shocked to find out Venky is/isn't the bridegroom..the exchange between them is too hilarious, especially with Venky's expressions....the best!!!

2. Namo Venkatesa -
i really liked Venky's way of praying to who else, Venky! He will do a series of actions very stylishly and quickly and the explanation he gave was also good. I also liked the scene where Trisha, her lover and Venky will be in the car and he switches on the car radio..Both songs were really apt situation songs (I dunno the first but the second was "poyae, poyae, lovae poyae...poyae poyindhae!" (Arya 2 -My love is gone!))...Venky's expression when the Arya 2 number comes up is too good!

3. Chintakayala Ravi - I actually liked alot of scenes in this movie...So, kinda hard to narrow down..
But one that i was laughing out REALLY LOUD non-stop was the scene where he goes to Berkeley to take an entrance test for a computer course. Before starting the exam, he places Vinayagar in front of me, offer flowers ,etc...Even that was ok..but when asked the qn "Who invented the first mouse?"...He goes " Mouse means (telugu word for mouse)...who invented it means? like duh, of course its mother invented it!" ahhahahahhahahaah! cannot take it man....
Another scene was the ending, when Anushka asks him what happened, he replies to her, "come along with us. since you missed our wedding, at least come see our first night", with a straight face. Following that everyone's responses to Anushka were also hilarious, cos she keeps interpreting it in the context of the first night! I read reviews that viewers didn't really like the crude humour used in the movie, but I enjoyed the movie alot.

4. Lakshmi -
A favourite Venky movie of mine, even though it has Nayantara whom i dislike. Thank god she was in a coma most of the movie, so that helped:P...the scenes were good, esp the one where the 1st sis seemed to be haughty like her own brothers but in the end, she slaps Shinde with the slipper instead... Even though Venky only had comedy in the flashback portion, he portrayed the strict brother role very well and i admire him in this movie!

5. Sankranthi -
another elder-bro role but he handled it very maturely and the lighter side could be seen in the flashback portion and newly-married scenes with Sneha...Awesome movie, even though the Tamil original was good, I prefer Venky to Mammooty:)

6- Malliswari
Again, most scenes were really nice, especially the beginning when he's desperately wanting to get married and the last scene where he rushes back to Katrina to tell her not to call him Pellikaani Prasad! The dream song with Gajala reminded me of the Ambulimaama song in Perazhaghan, where Surya dreams of getting married to Malavika...Enjoyed the movie!

There are so many more Venky moments, may probably need another post after watching more of his movies! Just briefly...for Chanti (chinna thambi), Pavitra Bandham (Priyamaanavale), Suryavamsam (Suryavamsam), Vasantham (Priyamana Thozhi), i have watched all the Tamil versions and I love all of them! Venky has justified his performances in the Telugu versions,making them my faves too!

His versatility is amazing and he still looks good even though he's gonna be 50...Venkatesh garu, i hope you continue to rock Telugu cinema!

Three cheers to Venkatesh, Namo Venkatesa! ;)

PS Priyamaina Arjunki, badapadokku! Even though i may admire many,You will always be my Varudu ;)

Musing #23: Azhagiya Tamizh Magan - Vijay :)

It just crossed my mind that i have never posted about Vijay...
In case you are wondering, Madhavan was my first love, I've been a huge fan of Vijay since forever, and Allu Arjun is my varudu/sweetheart!!!!!!! (just to set the records straight:P)

In the whole Surya-Vijay debate, I have always been on Vijay's side.
The oldest argument is about how Vijay is stuck in the same old mould while Surya's great at experimenting roles. I agree - Surya takes risks and they pay off..But it's not like Vijay has not experimented before, it's just that they have not paid off...

He tried negative roles in Priyamudan, Azhagiya Tamizh Magan (which i love!), tried roles that are not mass-style but still are smart characters like the always be positive Sarathi in Puthiya Geethai, Surya in Tamizhan. But such risks always end up negatively.So can you blame the guy for sticking to the tried and tested formula?
1996-2001 was a peak in his career. Who didn't love Raja in Poovae Unakkaagha, Shiva in Kushi, Vijay in Priyamanavale, and many other memorable roles? He made us laugh, made us cry and root for him in those movies! I still remember a scene in Thullatha Manamum Thullum where he had to cry about his mother's death in the toilet- i still burst into tears whenever i see it...powerful acting..
After that, i believe the boost in his career gave him the courage to try other scripts but most were average if not poor at the box-office. Tamizhan and Puthiya Geethai were my faves but somehow they didn't strike a chord with the audience

But he struck gold once more in the mass hero image with Thirumalai in 2003 and since then, his mass roles were the ones that gave him a string of hits. You wish to complain about his punch dialogues? Well, who gave the great response to his punch dialogues in Thirumalai in the first place? We all have tasted failure before. As a hero, one is not just accountable to the fans but also to the producer. So perhaps he felt personally responsible and didn't want to venture into too much of risks. So, it was yet another golden era, with Thirumalai, Ghilli,Thirupachi, Sivakasi, Pokkiri..All mega blockbusters,mass-style, which helped to gloss over bad movies like Udaya and Sachien. Ghilli and Pokkiri were remakes of Mahesh Babu,whom i like but still,Vijay did complete justice to both roles and he provided the comedy and excellent dance that I personally felt Mahesh Babu lacks slightly. I think the issue of him doing remakes is not even worth discussing cos remakes are done by lots of actors in various languages.

Emboldened by this stupendous successes, he took the challenge of a double role as both hero and villain which i thought was awesome. He played the evil guy, Prasad character really well, with a comedic and cunning portrayal. But it didn't pay off that well, which i think the loopholes in logic may have been a cause as well. But audience also commented they cannot get used to seeing him in a negative shade. Then can you blame the guy for going back to mass style?
Sadly though, since then, his movies have not been quite up to the mark... yet. Kuruvi was not bad - amazing dance,fights and good comedy. Villu was kind of a all time low, Vettaikaaran seemed to improve the situation but Sura, hmm, i would say slow...

Just watched it yesterday and i personally felt that the movie seemed disjointed- just didn't flow. As usual, audience had to make up their own interpretation to plug up logic loopholes. Like when he was supposed to be burnt but he survived cos Amma statue was over him. While that was cool , that he was saved by Amma's hands, how can we make the link when he was in a hut somewhere and the statue was somewhere further down initially? As a fan of Vijay, we may take the trouble to find links but normal audience probably just scoff. Comedy at beginning was not bad but slowly died down. There were about two good strategies used by him, but ending just fizzled... Vijay's dancing potential was not maximised except in the Bommayi and Naam nadanthaal song. Mani Sharma i felt, spent too much of time for Varudu songs, so Vijay had to make do with Telugu Billa's songs. Off screen, i liked the Vanga Kadal Ellai song but Vijay's steps didn't sizzle onscreen (where's Lawrence when you need him!!!).
Otherwise, as i watched Sura, i felt it was more of a platform to launch his political career (with those do-good for people dialogues,etc)that i really hope he DOES NOT get into. So far, politics has NOT been kind to actors who have forayed into it, not just tamil but India-wide. Anyway, this post is not meant to be a turn-off for Sura- watch it..for Vijay and his dance. The one shot that stole me heart was in the beginning when there was this close-up shot of Vijay smiling, such a charming smile (i wish i could take a screen cap of it)!

Yes,yes Surya fits the conventional image of handsome- fair, good-looking, if not a bit on the short side:P, six pack etc.. But Vijay still is handsome to me. So what if he's dark? His smile is more than enough to win me over. He looks awesome in long sleeved white or black shirts especially,(cue Thaen Thaen from Kuruvi, Azhagooril from Thirumalai, Nee Mutham Ondru from Pokkiri). Style? If you are asking this, then you must have been on another planet-have you not seen Dole Dole in Tamil Pokkiri!
Charismatic and charming, amazing dance, impactful acting (won state awardS before),sings well, romantic/comical expressions in songs and excellent sense of comedy, he's a true Hero. It's not that i want Vijay to remain mass-hero. I too want to see him in roles that stretch his acting ability- he has it, so why not maximise its potential? He promised in his Sura Audio release function that he's gonna experiment with different roles...and i trust Vijay.
So to all, of you detractors of Vijay, just keep your mouths shut for awhile. We did too, when Surya/Vikram were on their lows, so, just wait patiently. It's only a matter of time before my Vijay will be surfing the high waves of boxoffice again. Why not the high waves of Stardom you say? Cos he's already up there, a brightly Shining Star. He will always be and personally, he is THE Azhagiya Tamizh Magan.