Legend Is Entertaining

This Roar Is Entertaining

Rating : 3.5/5

NBK is back and with a bang! Boyapati Sreenu's Legend is an action filled emotional drama that has everything for Balakrishna fans and is a decent watch for those who are not. Unlike Boyapati Srinu's earlier film with NBK, Simha, this movie hinges more on the narrative than action. The first half is relatively slower, but post-interval the movie picks up pace and delivers. The movie takes place in India as well as Dubai.

Balakrishna has done a good job, appearing in two roles as brothers. The director has worked on giving a superb look to both the characters played by NBK. The white and white attire that NBK adorns towards the end has come as welcome surprise to his fans and conveys a lot at a time when elections are just around the corner. The punch dialogues are bombastic and Balakrishna delivers it powerfully.

Jagapathi Babu's antogonist, Jithendra, is one of the best roles of the actor in recent memory apart from being super-stylish. Radhika Apte has delivered a superb performance thanks to her brilliant characterization while Sonal Chauhan's character could have been developed more. The music and BGM by Devi Sri Prasad is brilliantly done and will be one of the major highlights of the movie. Cinematography by Ram Prasad should also be mentioned for setting up some brilliant shots as well as giving the movie a warm visual feel.

Jagapati Babu Interview

Making of A Villain

M K Sinu

For 25 years now, he has played roles as hero validated purely by audience. From heavy duty drama to breezy dramedies, punctuating occasionally with powerhouse performance in movies like Gayam & Anthapuram. Though Jagapati Babu himself endorses that he cannot dance like other heroes of his times, he was clearly unsophisticated, in the sense that he would not fit into mass hero image. His image of ‘Family Hero’ resonates even today – pick up any of his films of yore and you’ll know. Keep aside the qualitative factors of film making, Jagapati Babu’s films never failed to entertain.

In the past 5 years or so, he has committed to some trite cinema thereby plummeting his stock as a bankable star. By his own admission, he was waiting for chances and producers looked northwards. There was no work. But destiny and providence had something else in store. He signed on as antagonist in Legend opposite Balakrishna. Jagapati probably sensed he could start his second innings as villain after his act in 2012 release Thaandavam.

He is in all likelihood, true. Below is a freewheeling chat with Jagapati Babu where he talks about movies, mistakes, & his future plans.  

Click the links below to watch the full interview.

Aashiq Abu's Gangster Trailer Released

Aashiq' Big G

Saumesh Thimbath

Ever since Aashiq Abu saw Big B, the 2007 Malayalam action flick directed by his budddy Amal Neerad, he was secretly wishing to be its director. The trailer of Abu's upcoming Gangster makes one feel that he has finally made his Big B, without making too many unnecessary changes. The one minute forty five second trailer has many spots on its body that give away its antecedents. Both the movies have Mammooty playing the lead and the most apparent difference is that the brooding and calm Bilal of Big B has become the brooding and calm Ali Akbar Khan (or something similar) of Gangster. Gangster, just like the Amal Neerad's debut venture, is in all probability a gangster-called-back-out-of-retirement story. If it was the death of the mother-figure, played by Nafisa Ali, that prompts Bilal's return to his yesteryear bastion, Akbar Khan is called back by the character played by famous scriptwriter John Paul, who could well be his godfather, an ageing do-gooder gangster or a great soul who rehabilitates slum children. Some of the shots, especially the aerial shot of the SUV and the one that shows Mammooty getting out of the car, remind too much of Big B that the makers should atleast have had the good sense of not including them in the trailer.

Big B had a not-so-bad run at the BO just because it was in many ways a refreshing change from the usual action movie fare in Malayalam. But the movie industry and audience choices have changed and Amal Neerad has replicated the visual style in Big B many times over to the extend that people have genuine repulsion towards it. So the question remains as to why the most celebrated young director in Malayalam should devote his time and energy for a movie like this. Well, may be it's too early to comment, may be the movie has something that none of us have ever seen, may be the trailer was intentionally misleading. You have no idea how much I want to be proved wrong about my points. As they say, let's wait and watch.  

Pawan Launches Jana Sena

Pawan On  To Bigger Things

A rift between brothers that started three years ago is finally getting a grand finale. Pawan Kalyan has made public his plan to launch a political party of his own. 'Power Star' would make the official announcement of the launch of the party, named Jana Sena, at HICC Novotel on Friday. This decision by Pawan, who is a rage among Telugu youth, has come as a big blow to all the political parties in the state. The entry of Jana Sena into the political equation would through the calculations of the political parties into disarray as Pawan commands huge loyalty among the youth and his caste.

Pawan has already made public the emblem and the flag of the new political party which is a combination of many ideals the party stands for. The white background signifies peace and stability and the color red signifies the revolutionary aspect of Pawan's struggles, which he has portrayed in movies like Jalsa. The six-pointed star represents the six ideals of the party and the dot at the centre represents the soul of each human being. The black lining on the emblem symbolises the balance between revolutionary zeal and its opposing forces to avoid one-sidedness and discordance.

Rajni Forever: Kochadaiyaan

Rajni Forever

Saumesh Thimbath

While I was talking to a friend about Rajnikanth's upcoming film Kochadaiyaan and the news that the Superstar plans quitting acting after the release of the movie, we were thinking about a post-Rajnikanth scenario. Considering the actor's huge fan-following, which keeps increasing every day, thanks to lungi dances and homage videos, the entertainment industry is not going to get enough of Rajnikanth in his lifetime. That was when we hit on the possibility that Rajni movies would still be released even when the star and everybody who reads this will be long dead and gone. Or atleast we should not write off such a possibility, as recent strides in movie making technology, like performance capture and animation, have the potential to make that a reality. Performance capture, which uses the sampling of subtle movements of actors, is a step ahead of 3D animation as the movements of the onscreen digitally created character is smoother and life-like.

Given the growing craze over Rajnikanth, which the business houses have not-so-small contribution in revving up, movies starring but not acted by him might be a common thing in the future.

Balakrishna to do double role in Legend?

Balakrishna to do double role in Legend?

So, it is the end to months of wait for Balakrishna's fans – the teaser of his latest film Legend is out. The movie is directed by Boyapati Sreenu and has Radhika Apte and Sonal Chauhan and will be an out and out action flick. It is rumoured that Balakrishna will appear in two roles in the movie. Balakrishna appeared in dual roles in Sreenu's earlier film Simha too. We'll have to wait and see till the release date to see if the rumours turn out to be true. 

We list out six reasons why Legend is so eagerly awaited.

1. Nandamuri Balakrishna: The biggest USP for the movie is the return of Nandamuri Balakrishna to the screen after his 2010 film Srimannarayana. It is not yet clear what is the role that Balakrishna has donned for the movie, but the buzz is that Balakrishna will appear in two roles.
2. Balakrishna – Boyapati Collaboration: Legend is the second collaboration of NBK with Boyapati Sreenu, the earlier movie being the blockbuster Simha, which came out in 2010. Sreenu is famous for his high voltage action entertainers and the moviegoers hope that Legend will be no different.
3. DSP's Music: Another factor that will draw audiences is the music by Devis Sri Prasad, who is on a roll after the superb music he scored for 1-Nenokkadine and Attarintiki Daaredi. The music launch is slated for 7 March, 2014. The event will have a live telecast on Vaarahi Chalana Chithram Youtube channel. (https://www.youtube.com/vaaraahi)
4. The movie is produced by Ram Achanta,Gopichand Achanta and Anil Sunkara under 14 Reels Entertainment, who produced blockbusters like Dookudu and Sai Korrapati, the producer of Eega, will be presenting the film on Vaarahi Chalana Chitram. 
5. Jagapathi Babu's Negative Role: For the first time, Jagapathi Babu appears as the main antagonist in this movie.
6. Legend Motorbike: Finally, the bike that NBK is riding in the movie, The Legend Superbike, the photo of which is given below, is already a sensation with NBK fans. Silly Monks Entertainment is the authorized dealer for Vardenchi Custom Motorcycles, who has customized the motorbike, in South India.

Watch Legend teaser below.