Andala Rakshashi Telugu Movie Review

It is told with a panache that we do not associate with Telugu cinema. Reminds you of films like Balu Mahendra’s Moodu Pani and even Mouna Geetam. No, it has no stars backed with a stunt master and a choreographer. On the contrary, we have simple human beings, living the hope and trauma of life. Engrossing within the precincts of simple characters, the film is a ray of rare hope in a scenario that throws sensitivity to the winds. It could be of perspective relevance to the entire industry, not just for the craft and content but also for the approach and sobriety. It is a defining moment.
All along, the narration is honest to its story line and thus bears allegiance to the tale.
When Ercih Segal said “Love means never having to say sorry, it became a cult. Here the protagonist would declare with equal class: There is no past tense, in love. If it is lost in the midst of dance and song expectation, the blame surely does not lie with the film maker. Interestingly there is nothing very new about the tale. It revisits another love triangle. Two guys woo the gal and the rest of the script is to see who would finally win her. With two new comers and an intelligent script the guess work as to who the real hero is takes you right to the last scene.
Gautham (Rahul) is the suave rich guy who falls in love with Mithuna (Lavanya) who incidentally has just suffered a major accident and has lost her lover Surya (Naveen) a scrap artist. She refuses to marry Gautham and walks out of the family defying the parental pressure. Gautham on the one hand woos Mithuna and is willing to wait for her to say yes at some point in time. Surya is believed to be dead in a ghastly road accident. Mithuna is out there in an idyllic Kerala in the midst of some awesome greens and rivers and is at an important emotional cross road: she knows not whether she can forget Surya and accept Gautham. Even as she faces the dilemma we have glimpses from her past, all of which show her as a gal with great spirit. Surya is believed to have died in a ghastly road accident Gautham in fact puts in words when he says that a dead Surya is more alive in the emotional space of Mithuna than the live and hopeful Gautham. Accidentally Gautham comes to know that Surya is alive. Should he reveal the fact to Mithuna. Yes of course. Gautham is too straight to even think of the other alternative. We then have a full-fledged look at the vibrant love story in the past between Surya and Mithuna.

The cast lends tremendous credibility to the triangle tale. The winsome lass caught between the memories of the guy with gullible charm and the here and now lover with touching sincerity. The film plays with these variant hues and colours and if you believe in human emotions and their varied possibilities, the narration draws your attention .Even when it meanders to establish the brewing love tale, in a flash back, it keeps you engaged with some fine cinematography (G. Murali), superb background music, colour and wonderful interiors.
Stated to be the tale where “the three characters resemble the three celestial bodies Sun, moon and the Earth. Set in motion by the force of love, the three individuals can neither come close nor cut off but are destined to revolve around the dear ones”, the entire exercise is imaginative and in keeping with the sun, moon earth parallel. The three debutant actors show a lot of promise and perform from distinct well defined structured space. Director/Writer Hanu Raghavapudi surely knows his craft and shows great promise.
If the film is rejected at the box office, it reflects the sad state of our cinema and not the rich texture and promise of the film. Its title is a bit misleading and suggests that it has something to do with the Anushka genre of cinema. Far from it, it is a pleasant love story that gnaws at your emotions and tells a simple tale in a simple manner. Non takers are the losers.

L. Ravichander