Shakti

Shakti
2011
4/5 stars

 Aishwarya (Ileana D'Cruz) goes on a road trip with friends, without realizing that she is carrying a magical diamond. A small, throw-back sect of Egyptians is trying to get the diamond and an equally magical trident that goes with it to gain the power these possess.  Shakti (N. T. Rama Rao, Jr.), a tour guide hired by Aishwarya, becomes involved in the protection of both her and the two artifacts.

The plot verged on ridiculous sometimes, with the scenes involving the Egyptians being the weak link of the movie.  The rest of the story, though, had some nice surprises and was entertaining.  Jr. NTR, who radiates energy and charisma, is a good actor and excellent dancer.  D'Cruz was mostly convincing.  The leads had good chemistry together during the music sequences, but not as good during the plot.  The supporting cast was solid.  The fights were nicely choreographed, but the CGI was not always believable.  The songs were great, as were the accompanying choreography, staging, and costumes. Despite the occasional silliness, it was enjoyable and I expect to watch it again.

Brindavanam

Brindavanam
2010
5/5 stars

Indu (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) has a friend who is in a jam.  Bhumi (Kajal Aggarwal) wants to continue her studies in America, but her father, Bhanu (Prakash Raj). wants her to return to their village and marry a relative (whose name is never revealed, played by Ajay), who is, unbeknownst to Bhanu, evil and dangerous.  To avoid it, Bhumi lies to her father saying that she is in love with someone else.  When her father demands to meet him, Indu persuades her own boyfriend, Krish (N. T. Rama Rao Jr.), to play the part.  What should have been a simple, short-term deception involves Krish in a bi-village rivalry, danger to his life, and complications in love.

First off: I loved this action-drama-romance-comedy! The plot is complex in a positive way, rich and layered, and, despite it's length (nearly three hours), fully engrossing.  Jr NTR is a good actor, an excellent dancer, and is loaded with charisma. His chemistry with both actresses was convincing, as were their performances.   The veteran supporting cast was great, as well.  The fight scenes, though unbelievable, were well-choreographed and quite entertaining.  While the music was not spectacular, it was still good, and also well-choreographed.   Costumes, sets, and locations were all beautiful, and the film work was gorgeous.  I certainly found this movie completely enjoyable.

Krishnashtami

Krishnashtami

2016

3/5 stars

In this Telugu film, orphaned Krishna Varaprasad (played by Sunil) was sent to the U.S. as child by his uncle, who strenuously resisted letting Krishna return to India.  As Krishna ages, he wants nothing more than to go home and finally, unbeknownst to his uncle, does so.  His trip is extremely eventful, as he falls in love, finds his life in danger, and works to relieve a family of a decades-old hatred.

(Nikki Galrani and Dimple Chopade also star.)

The plot is a mix of action, drama, romance, and comedy, mostly predictable, but with a few nice twists.  The musical numbers were average.  The fight scenes were not realistic, but still amusing to watch.  Some of the comedy verged on the racy and didn't mesh well with the rest of the film.  The three leads gave good performances, though chemistry was lacking between Sunil and the two actresses.  The veteran supporting cast of familiar faces were generally solid.  Overall, Krishnashtami was entertaining, but not memorable - - a one time watch only.

(On a side note: It was fun to see a favorite villain, Ajay, in the role of a loving family man.)

Dimple Chopade; Sunil; Nikki Galrani

Summer Viewing

I changed my routine this summer, so I've not been watching as many movies, and most of what I have watched have been repeats.  Here are the new ones I have seen:

Good Newwz  2019  2/5 stars  Akshay Kumar, usually quite talented and funny, couldn't salvage this movie with it's unappealing "humor", stale acting, and lack of resolution.  It didn't live up to the hype, and frankly, I felt like I wasted my time.

Banarasi Babu ("The Gentleman from Banaras") 1997 3/5 stars  Govinda and Ramya Krishnan had good chemistry, and, both talented actors, gave good performances.  The plot was mostly good, though a bit racy and did get too silly at times.  Veteran supporting actor Shakti Kapoor's role and performance was off-putting, a definite detriment to the movie. The music was average, with "San Sanana Sai" being the exception.  Overall, it was fun to watch once, but not particularly memorable.

Aunty No. 1  1998  3/5 stars   This Govinda - Raveena Tandon classic has an extremely convoluted plot, is often too silly, and wraps up unrealistically.  However, the principals have good chemistry and that, along with a talented veteran supporting cast and a few good songs, makes it mostly enjoyable overall.

Kick (2009)

Kick
2009
2/5 stars

The complicated plot is interesting and engaging, with some nice twists. Unfortunately, the principal actor  (Ravi Teji) is particularly unappealing. His lack of charisma combined with an unconvincing performance as the hero, topped off with the twenty year age gap between him and the leading lady (Ileana D'Cruz) being distastefully apparent, make the movie nearly unwatchable. I would recommend skipping this version, and watching the 2014 Bollywood remake instead.

Bhagam Bhag

Bhagam Bhag
(translates as "running around")
2006
2/5 stars


Champak Chaturvedi (Paresh Rawal) is the director of a theater group whose heroine (Tanushree Dutta) attracts a British businessman into hiring them for a London show.  His two male leads, Bunty (Akshay Kumar) and Babla (Govinda), are both vying for the attention of said heroine and annoy her enough that she quits, leaving Champak in a lurch.  While in London, Bunty and Babla search for a replacement, leading to a mix-up with a drug ring, trouble with the police, a murder, and involvement with an amnesiac, suicidal actress, Munni (Lara Dutta).

With three superb comedians in the lead, and an excellent supporting cast, this suspense-comedy had such promise, but did not deliver.  There was little-to-no chemistry between any of the main actors, particularly between Akshay Kumar and Govinda, so most of the humor simply fell flat, or the situations were so silly that they just were not funny.  The thriller element  was good, but simply was not strong enough to override the rest of the movie. The songs were average or below, with one being particularly off-putting.  Overall, Bhagham Bhag was such a disappointment.

Rajaji

Rajaji
1999
3/5 stars

Rajaji (played by Govinda) is an unscrupulous, lazy wastrel who decides that he will marry a rich woman, so as not to have to work.  He meets Payal (Raveena Tandon), daughter of a millionaire, and deceives her into falling in love with him.  It is only after they marry, that Rajaji discovers that Payal is actually the daughter of a gardener.

(Cast also includes Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Satish Kaushik, and Aruna Irani.)

The plot of this romantic comedy/drama is predictable, but still enjoyable.  The costumes are beautiful, and most of the scenes look lovely.  The music is average, with the exception of the memorable " Tere Pyar Ne" which is used twice in the film.  Govinda was convincing, nicely balancing between comedian and hero. He had good chemistry with Raveena Tandon, who gave an average performance.  The veteran supporting cast was solid.

The problem with the movie was the last twenty minutes or so, when an unnecessary subplot emerged, creating chaos for the last scenes of the movie.  The ending could have been strong, had this been absent and the emotional impact left intact.  Overall, though, it's worth watching once, especially for Govinda fans.