Cast: Nara Rohit, Sree Vishnu, Tanya Hope
Banner: Aran media Works
Music: Sai karthik, BGM: Suresh Bobbili
Cinematography: Naveen Yadav
Editor: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Producers: Prashanti & Krishna Vijay
Director: Saagar K Chandra
Tagline: A reflection of reality that stays forever!
Plot:
A young journalist and cricketer gets curious about a batsman from the 90s and tries to know his story from his close associates. This opens up the story and the principal characters. Railway Raju (Sree Vishnu) is a budding cricketer with high hopes of playing at the national level. Nitya (Tanya Hope) falls for his destructive style of batting, and butterflies fly along with the cricket ball. In a parallel world, Imtiaz (Nara Rohit) is hell bent to wipe out Naxalites from the state. He also has a personal vendetta attached to his mission. Under strange circumstances, the paths of Raju and Imtiaz cross and they lock horns with each other. The second half gets into the zone of one upmanship amid the economic, social and political conditions prevalent at that time in the country. What happened to Raju’s cricketing dreams, what’s the motive of Imtiaz, and for how long their battle lasted forms the rest of the story.
A young journalist and cricketer gets curious about a batsman from the 90s and tries to know his story from his close associates. This opens up the story and the principal characters. Railway Raju (Sree Vishnu) is a budding cricketer with high hopes of playing at the national level. Nitya (Tanya Hope) falls for his destructive style of batting, and butterflies fly along with the cricket ball. In a parallel world, Imtiaz (Nara Rohit) is hell bent to wipe out Naxalites from the state. He also has a personal vendetta attached to his mission. Under strange circumstances, the paths of Raju and Imtiaz cross and they lock horns with each other. The second half gets into the zone of one upmanship amid the economic, social and political conditions prevalent at that time in the country. What happened to Raju’s cricketing dreams, what’s the motive of Imtiaz, and for how long their battle lasted forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Sree Vishnu: Finally, the emerging actor gets a movie of his lifetime. Vishnu’s Raju echoes the spirit of every Hyderabadi and every aspiring cricketer. The transformation of his happy-go-lucky nature into something terrific surfaces his acting skills. At times, he gives an impression that he walked straight out of RGV school of acting. His role carries a myriad emotions and his breakdown in the climax speaks volume about the long way he has paved for himself.
Nara Rohit: Time and again, Nara Rohit proves that he is an A class actor, and this film reaffirms the same. With portrayal of so many cop roles, he has become a seasoned player in that area. Every time he adds something to the character, which otherwise looks stereotypical. His display of wits come in his dialogue rendition, and how effortlessly he churns out menacing looks.
Tanya Hope: She plays a bubbly girl who stands by the side of Raju. Though her character is of a regular heroine, she plays a pivotal role in bringing the key transformation to Raju. Her presence can be called as a causative factor for the plot points in the film. She is near perfect in her role. However, she needs to add some weight to her acting with good expressions.
Prabhas Sreenu: He plays a good supporting role and steps into the shoes of a narrator in the first half. There are glimpses of his comedy that put you in splits.
Brahmaji: This time he gets more meat to his character as Vittal bhai. He starts from where Sreenu’s character stops the narration. He dishes out comedy and emotions in equal measures.
Analysis:
Director Saagar K Chandra must be lauded for choosing a risky and tricky subject. A bad acting or execution might have toppled the film. The screenplay is water-tight leaving no scope for dull moments. Those who lived through the 90s can relate to the events happening around Raju and Imtiaz. And for those who missed the nostalgic nineties, he explains everything in a simplistic manner. He shows his mark in recreating The Dairy milk ad and Shiva’s fight scene without making them look out of place. He walks an extra mile by giving a different spin to the city of Hyderabad and the way things unfold during that time. The showreel-ish backstories and the events influencing the life of the protagonist gives Appatlo Okadundevaadu a tinge of world cinema.
When the film turns into a serious mode, Sagar never misses a chance to plug in some comedy. This gives a balance to the film. Satire on Tamil movies, chaos between gangs at the Vinayaka Chavithi pandals, Jana Natya mandali, globalization after the 1991 reforms, stamp paper scam, real estate boom, and there are many more embedded in the screenplay. The movie opens with the events in the present time and sways back and forth leaving you in awe and wonderment. The parallel narratives, RGV-esque technique of handling conflicts and emotions makes you ask for more. The climax is a real tearjerker.
Merits:
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Solid script with taut screenplay
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Razor sharp dialogue
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Performances of Nara Rohit and Sree Vishnu
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Climactic twists and emotional finale
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Cinematography and background music
Demerits:
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No authenticity of 90s in few episodes
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Shorter role of Nara Rohit when compared to that of Sree Vishnu
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Evolution of Vishnu’s character in the second half is too fast to palate
Music:
Sai Karthik does a decent job with the songs, but the surprise element is the background score by Suresh Bobbili. The opening credits hit your nostalgic nerve and you may ask them to be played once more.
Others:
The camera tells most of the story and Naveen Yadav takes a pat on his back. The cinematographer paints the frames with rustic aura and lends pace to the narrative. Though shot on a shoestring budget, the game of cricket looks real and natural.
Verdict:
Appatlo Okadundevaadu is a rare breed of cinema. It’s difficult to fit it in a particular genre as it showcases many things in its short runtime of two hours. To be precise, the movie traces the history and journey of a fictional character whose life gets affected with a strange turn of events and how a series of factual happenings, of that time, influenced him; or he influenced them. Few films that fall under such a genre are Forrest Gump, Hey Ram, 7 Khoon Maaf, Kai Po Che among others. So, make way for this new genre of Telugu cinema.
Avg User Rating: 3.5/5
Avg User Rating: 3.5/5
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