Morning Show Muchatlu - Sainikudu
Posted November 30, 2006 
Comments(30) 
If I had Mahesh Babu’s cell number with me, I would have asked him in his own inimitable style, “Okka sari nuvvu commit ayithe nee maata nuvve vinavu ani telusu. Kaani yenti? yenti ee cinema?” Phew! The tsunami had come and gone but our filmmakers haven’t given up their fetish for it in their films. My colleague reminded me how the tsunami washed away Manasupalike Mounaragam and Boss but all those scenes came inbetween or during towards the end but here the film opens not with tsunami but something synonymous called ‘floods’ and with it has drowned the film’s prospects. Manaki tsunameelu, varadalu atchi raavu baabu! All the technical matter about Sainikudu, the colour effects, the technical brilliance, the summoning of a hollywood man for helping with the graphics etc is all beyond my understanding. It might have helped those people who know the in and out of film making but for a lay man, what matters is if the film succeeded in giving his money worth of entertainment. It was sheer crap atleast the second half of the film is something one can give it a miss. An avid browser had already sent me the story and advised me not to go but I didn’t know it was this bad.
What I could gather about this director Gunashekar is he can’t think of films without grandiose sets, wonder why he can’t spend his time and concentration on the content instead. Prince Mahesh Babu became Super Star Mahesh Babu in the ‘credits’ with one Pokiri. The hero no doubt is level headed but the director atleast should not have been carried away by his rising status. So involved he got with his work that you wouldn’t know if you were watching a documentary on relief measures for flood victims or a student leader getting sucked in dirty politics. Oops here politics is ain’t dirty, it’s comic.
You have the home minister running behind his fiancee on the street with a stick and a student leader holding him to ransom. Despite Mahesh wearing the blue lens you can’t see his love for Trisha or the anger of a ‘youth’. All you are compelled to see is technical wizardry. In the initial scenes people tumble over each other for food packets and outside, there was a tokkisalaata for tickets. The mob got reduced to pulp by an enthusiastic police woman at the ticket counter. In the movie there was Telengana Shakuntala enacting the same role and for a moment I wondered if the police woman was inspired by her act.
Trisha’s costumes are plain wierd. If the costume designer thought she was bringing in a fashion statement with a lehenga and a collared blouse then she needs to really take a walk. Eeks even the blouse she wears for the wedding has a collar. The ‘geetanjali’ act didn’t even bring a smile but what can these artistes do? The real culprits are the one behind the scenes. Video conference and judgement tho cinema muginchindi ani anukunnamu. But how will it end? It’s Mahesh Babu’s turn to get beaten now. If you are thinking atleast the songs will provide an escape, you are mistaken. Except for the one song on the bike, rest…are all loud. Climax adagoddhu only a true warrior (Sainikudu) can go through the torture and I’m one. Chaavanu parichayam cheyyadam ante idhenemo!
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Kota Srinivasa Rao annattu andharu ‘pilla kaayalu’ lagane natincharu. The roles were so sub standard. Irfan Khan refused a role in Vikram’s Bheema because he felt the role given to him in Sainikudu was far superior. Bheema release ayaye varaku teleedhu, Irfan’s choice better or not ani. It’s refreshing though to see a new face in Telugu cinema. We can’t compare every film with Pokiri and film like Pokiri might not come again. But atleast the dialogues should have been convincing for a title like Sainikudu. All you get to hear from them is podichestha, champestha, vesestha, narikestha, kummestha, etc. Coming to romance, there was enough time to redo the script. Why are they always giving Mahesh Babu ‘the hard to get’ kinda role? It’s boring to see him give a disinterested look coupled with nonchalant dialogues when the heroine is talking to him. Mahesh has been working without a break for a long time. Mahesh take a holiday and that sabbatical will help you think over your next few scripts.
Varalakshmi (Trisha) plays a role of a girl besotted, totally head over heels in love with Irfan Khan. When she is kidnapped by Siddartha (Mahesh Babu), she keeps him at a distance but is mostly to be fantasizing or imagining that Siddartha would rape her. When she finds his coat over her shoulders she throws it off (there is a dual expression on her face) saying it’s ‘apacharam’ but she has no qualms jumping onto him from behind albeit with a different intention in a purely vivid imagination. While she is on the bike with him we get to see a song suggesting romance but till she hears Irfan speak cruel dialogues she doesn’t know that Siddartha is a goody goody character.
Prakash Raj who is used to hogging the limelight in all movies is given a weak role. However it picks momentum only in the second half with him getting to do a couple of crucial scenes. His goal is always to be of support to his brother-n-law Irfan Khan the home minister “maa baava kallo anandam choodalani anukunna kaani..” and when he realises Irfan’s plan was to kill him, Prakash Raj stabs him. But one thing is for sure after watching Irfan Khan in Sainikudu, you will never get scared of him in his next hindi film. The director didn’t want to disturb the seriousness in the first half so he prolonged the climax and jampacked the songs post interval. Trisha’s introduction song shows that she is capable of those same old cliched facial expressions. Telengana Shakuntala is an absolute delight. She is one lady who can do the same kind of role without dishing out boredom. A couple of dialogues are downright vulgar and thanks to Paruchuri brothers they have trivialized the concept of rape. One expected something superior from the duo.
You are in for disappointment if you are thinking you will watch the entire Orugallu in this film. All you get to see is granite arches which will change colours now and then and a song on Orugallu by Karunya. Gunashekar ki endhuku out of all the districts Warangal meedha moju padindhi? Sagam cinema anna aa waranagal set lo teesunte oka meaning undedhi. Expenditure lo Shekar Kapur ki ekkuva K. Raghavendra Rao ki takkuva. If you are looking for entertainment it does come during the climax when Mahesh Babu spikes a knife into Irfan Khan’s foot and the TV channel butts in for live coverage..a perfect spoof on media insensitivity and their mad rush for TRP’s. On the whole the enthusiasm and excitement that people showed while rushing into the theatre ebbed when the film commenced. Don’t worry Mahesh has many more films down the line and with ‘Different Directors’ that too!
Telugu cinemalu antey janalaki maha pitchi. Super stars antey praanam. Cinema is about to release antey frenzy ekkuva avuddhi. The film stars have only got bigger and the practice of this mad idol worship has been prevalent for a long time. Since NTR, ANR days nundi undhi. Though the intensity for a particular star keeps rising, sadly, the general quality of Telugu films has deteriorated sharply. Understandably, while the film personalities routinely work in movies, Telugu films remain conspicuous by their absence from the official selection of film festivals and other international events. Thanks to our movie-crazy population, Andhra boasts of a few of the most luminous movie stars that showbiz has ever seen. Andukaney just before the movie releases every website hypes it up, the filmmakers thrive on it, the stars soak in the adulation and fans revel in their happiness. Imagine having a live telecast of the print box reaching the theatre in Gudivada. “Box baildherindhi, 6.30pm ki reach avuthundanta. Kaani time marocchu. First show is at 12.30 anta. Aiyyo sorry, show cancel anta, repu morning 7 am aitey. Fans are getting restless..Live updates kaavalanta…etc!” It can’t get mad than this.
Trisha is at the moment in Rajahmundry shooting for Selva’s film Adavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule. The voice keeps breaking on the phone as the location is farthest from the district but I manage to get some info from her. She is excited about Sainikudu’s release and says that she wouldn’t want to reveal much about it. 
Poor Charmme. She had always given her best and worked hard for her scenes. Everybody knows the extent she went through while shooting for MS Raju’s film Pournami. She slipped while doing a dance on a narrow bridge and hurt her neck. Nevertheless she completed the song after taking pain killers. The injury was so serious that she was away from work for six to seven months and due to God’s grace she is back in form absolutely. But an unfortunate thing happened today. A song was supposed to be picturised on NTR, Ileana and Charmme and the shooting of Rakhi had to be cancelled as the actress’s pain resurfaced. Heard she is unable to move her neck. If she is okay by tomorrow the shooting will resume or she might need to take rest for some more days. With this balance song Charmme’s work will be over. The shooting of the film which was supposed to end on 5th December might get prolonged now.