The festive season saw the Telugu
film viewing audience watch two films reiterating the value of the family and
story lines dealing with the family. The two however are as different as chalk
is from cheese. If one had the dynamism and velocity of an Akram Yonus spell,
the other had the poetic idyll of a Prasanna- Bedi spin spell. The two films
are the much hyped Setama vakitlo Sirimalli chetu and the under stated Midunam.
Both films are watchable in their own space and both are true to their genre.
While SVSC is a major multi starrer that is not a very common sight in
Tollywood, it is refreshing that you have two major stars share screen space
without much ado. The stars- dehorse their talent quotient have a huge fan
follow and here we know it is based on a long term commitment rather than a
willingness to take a film and the performance therein on merits. The stars
bring in their own value to the board. Both carry their stardom and the script
does not expect them to strip themselves of it. It exploits it well. The story
line has these huge families of uncles and aunts that up North is patented by
Sooraj Bharjatiya but here made very second Friday.
Having lost the opportunity to talk on SVSC (my editor thought me not good
enough to voice an opinion on such a great happening!!), I must confess that it
is a film that works well within its defined premise. The clichés are well
placed, the drama is appropriate, the performances do not go overboard. Most
importantly the screen chemistry between the brooding Peddodu (Venkatesh) and
the street-smart Chinodu (Mahesh) are well engineered. The script steers clear
from being over dramatic and this is where the Director scores. He draws the
contrast well and lets the script linger rather than scream. This is the
strength of the film.
Midhunam is a completely different ball game. Amazing experiment and
reasaonably successful at that. It is nice to see the film maker (Thanikela
Bharani) venturing a film with just two actors. After all the other film had
enough cast for a few films put together. Of course the script gets dramatic
(read an over if you care), it also in the short while meanders a while but all
along it is stuck on the love affair of the old couple sans the cinematic
dramatics of a Baaghbaan. While SPB is not an actor and loiters into the art by
proximity, Lakshmi a veteran with the perfect mix of drama and screen craft
adds a high degree of credibility. Watch me is the constant scream in subtlety
that she brings to the film. Most importantly the two establish that it is
sufficient for two stars-nay actors to play with a script so long as the later
is true and structured.
To return to the main issue: it is redeeming to see two films deal with
relationships- not those that challenge or redefine the normal social code but
work in tandem with it. Both are worth watching and needless to mention are
aimed at a slightly different audience. Of course all film lovers must make
good use of the opportunity and take a stroll around the familiar social unit:
the family
L. Ravichander.