Let us start with a helicopter in which a minister of the state is
traveling. It develops a snag and has to land in the middle of nowhere.
When it does do the emergency landing, it does so on a proper helipad -
complete with the "H" mark - in the middle of nowhere by the side of a
village - Venkata Puram.
If you have any questions about this
incident, do not let them out because if you do, and you have to follow
the same yard stick, half your life will be spent asking questions. The
remaining half? You guessed it right. hunting for the answers. So let
us save all that trouble and accept whatever YVS Chowdary throws at us
in the form of Okka Magaadu, Balakrishna’s latest offering on the
marquee.
The mantra seems to be pretty simple. Shun Logic. It
would have actually helped us if the director were kind enough to
display this warning too along with the Tobacco warning. "Please do
shun logic at this point. We are not responsible for any brain damage
arising out of an unnecessary logical appraisal of the events happening
on the screen."
However for an intelligent viewer having an IQ
of at least 25, the implicit warning is pretty much there in the face
within the first two minutes of the movie when the helicopter lands. So
I wouldn’t hold YVS responsible for any technical snag in my brain.
This
movie categorically states that most beautiful women in this part of
the world are so sex-starved that they are always hunting for "The
Man". They don’t have any other feelings. They can’t do anything else -
Sometimes they dream about The Man. Sometimes they talk about The Man.
Sometimes they behave in a lewd manner unable to resist the very
thoughts of The Man. And that’s pretty much what they do. Quite
interestingly they come, they see, they show, they conquer, they sing,
they dance, they disappear. Fifteen minutes later the same cycle
repeats. I know this is the standard formula for most Telugu movies
these days but to show them just as sex maniacs with no other goal in
life is stretching it a bit too far. YVS needs a reality check. The
audience has moved on if the reaction to these scenes are indicative of
anything.
Nisha Kothari and Anuskha are two dunderheads who
epitomize the male chauvinism of the scriptwriter. A word of advice to
Anushka - Ma’am you need to reinvent yourself. Otherwise you will be
spoken along with Jayamalini and Silk Smitha.
Before the
release of this movie, YVS gave a press interview in which he made an
emphatic announcement that his script demanded three heroines and hence
the movie had three glamour dolls. I guess he was either talking about
a different script or had very low opinion about the IQ levels of the
viewer. Anushka and Nisha appear in two paise roles clad in one paise
garments and have exactly 2 minutes of footage outside the songs.
Let
me not get into the illogical sequences in the movie as I have already
stated that anyone looking for logic in this movie is probably going to
be brain dead immediately . The sequences unfold at breakneck speed
with everyone shouting at 150 decibels for no apparent reason. And such
shouting and mindless violence is served as "Freedom Struggle" complete
with voice overs for Mahatma Gandhi and Chacha Nehru. Jingoism is
equated to freedom struggle.
The fighter goes to China; watches
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; comes back and kills all the British
single-handedly. He resurfaces after 60 years and continues his
struggle against the corrupt and the callous people of India. If that
reminds you of another movie, you are not alone.
I don’t know
what the hero learnt in China but YVS sure learnt third degree Chinese
torture techniques there and uses them on the hapless viewers reducing
them to vegetables by the time the credits start rolling up.
The
movie could have done away with two of the three heroines, one of the
two Balakrishnas(the younger one to be precise) and a little bit of
matured handling of pre and post independence Indian conditions. But
that is probably too tall an order for YVS. If it were not for
Balakrishna’s relentless efforts, the movie would have killed all the
viewers.
That brings us to the man who has given it all. It
was refreshing to see Balakrishna mouthing ferocious dialogues and
creating an impact naturally. Let’s admit it, it is a sheer pleasure to
watch Balakrishna when he is in his elements. Sadly all his efforts are
wasted in this pointless and badly executed movie.
I hope this
serves as a wake up call to Balakrishna. He needs to look at fresh
ideas - try something radically different and give the new generation a
chance rather than persisting with people who refuse to move beyond the
decade before the last.
My Rating: Bad.