Note: There are thousands of reviews on Johnny on the net. Some overly praise it. Some covertly denounce it. I haven’t seen any balanced review so far. Being a neutral person as far as Telugu movie idols are concerned I feel I can contribute my 2 cents for this topic.
Screenplay/Direction:
The strength of this movie is its direction and screenplay. Those who feel that ’’this is a movie which shows how NOT to direct a movie’’, may please take note of the fact that slow pace does not necessarily mean bad direction. We have to see whether the director is deviating from the subject or he is able to keep it focussed on the script. I feel Pawan Kalyan has done a wonderful job as a first time director in this movie. Some points I would like to stress here are:
Pawan Kalyan’s hair grows uniformly from the first scene to the last scene.
The shot sequences are absolutely brilliant. Every incident has a definite meaning and it fits perfectly into the script. The ambience talk or in other words, the lines spoken by characters in the background in a hushed manner have a lot of importance. If you miss that, you might not get the true meaning of the scene being shown. It is not the director’s fault. It is actually his brilliance. Most Hollywood movies are shot in this way.
Characters in Mumbai (Aamchi Mumbai) speak Hindi and not Telugu. Isn’t that the way it is supposed to be? Which Mafia don or Fight Club owner in Dharavi speaks in Telugu?
The love story of Pawan and Renu Desai is handled with utmost care. It was pleasant and not loud. Most Telugu movies are on the wrong side of this loudness factor. Johnny surprises in this aspect. It is actually sensible.
In-line humor: This is how humor should be in a script. There shouldn’t be a separate Babu Mohan/Sunil track. The flashback and flash forward sequences of Pawan’s fight with the Karate Don’s sidekicks are really hilarious.
Lack of Background score: Good. What is wrong about it?
If you are still unconvinced, please get the DVD of ’’Meet Joe Black’’ asap and watch it with an open heart. It is almost like Johnny in technical departments. It is a critically acclaimed movie worldwide.
Coming to the negative points:
Too many songs.
Pawan went overboard trying to show Renu’s beauty.
Liberal doses of cliched sentences and sentimental trash.
Unrealistic fights: I don’t know why people have this opinion that Pawan’s fights are realistic. Most of the fight scenes are done in extreme close-up and with two-second-shots confusing the viewer. Any Tom Dick and Harry could have been in the shoes of Pawan while doing those fight sequences because it was the camera that was fighting.. not Pawan Kalyan. I watched this movie in Santham A/c of Chennai. The guy in front of me opined with his girlfriend that Ravi Teja in ANOTA did a better job than Pawan as far as fight sequences are concerned. In reality I am quite sure Pawan knows all the martial arts but the way he picturised his fights has ample room for improvement. And what’s with the fascination with Jet Li? I saw Pawan actually defying gravity and flying towards the opponent in the last fighting sequence. Did not expect that in a Pawan’s movie.
Beaten to Death Story: King Asoka while laying the roads might have uncovered this story. It is that old.
Final Word:
Not all movies are alike. It is good to see someone actually experimenting with the way movies are produced in Telugu. It was a long movie but was never boring. It was a cliched story but told in a beautiful manner. The movie would have better had the length been two hours or less with no songs though I must confess I enjoyed the MS Narayana’s black and white song.
I am looking forward to Pawan’s next directorial venture. I think he is a better director than actor. Hope he takes this as a learning experience.
These are strictly my opinions. I am not a Pawan Kalyan fan... not even a Telugu movie fan. But I feel this one is one of the better movies released in 2003 in the whole of India.
Have Fun
Venu (Platypus) - O Telugu vacchina Tamila Abbayi.