It’s been pretty sedate for Telugu cinema so far this year. It started with the unexpected failure of the NTR biopic. The adulatory, slightly soporific version and the sequel just failed to draw audiences to theatres. The film, efficiently directed by Krish, with a restrained performance from Balakrishna definitely deserved better. The more controversial version, helmed by Ram Gopal Verma made from Lakshmi Parvathi’s point of view and painting Chandra Babu Naidu villain for staging a political coup did much better. Audiences don’t want cinematic text books. They want thrillers. The first big star to fall with a thud was Ram Charan, whose ‘Vinaya Vidheya Rama’ tanked. Ram Charan though earned brownie points by apologising to fans for not translating a grand vision interestingly enough and more importantly accepting failure with grace.

Another star son desperately in search for his first hit missed again with Mr. Majnu, which garnered some pre-release buzz thanks to the director Venky Atluri who made the pleasant ‘Tholi Prema’. The advantage with star sons is that they will earn till they learn, however long it takes. Akhil is charming and not a bad actor too. He’s just not found the right film to connect him with audiences convincingly. Two films with cricket as the backdrop were released in the same month. ‘Majili’, about a failed cricketer who’s also dumped by his girlfriend and decides to make another woman’s life miserable had some pretty interesting sequences and was sustained by uniformly good performances. You do empathise with the protagonist’s pain but are put off by his pessimistic attitude. Naga Chaitanya is a vastly improved actor. I must reiterate this is the advantage star sons enjoy over newcomers with neither money nor connections in the industry.

‘Majili’ did pretty well at the box-office. It was easier to relate with the characters in ‘Jersey’. The emotional travails are genuine and not manipulative. The story of Arjun is something that’s happened to so many whose talents were smothered and pushed to the shadows mostly thanks to nepotism. There is a restraint in the emotional scenes that has to be lauded be it between husband and wife or father and son. ‘Jersey’ is an underrated film despite its success. The first superstar to deliver a success happened when Mahesh Babu decided to unleash, ‘Mahrishi’. Mahesh plays it safe, not trying to veer away from time-tested formulae about friendship, fortune, love and ‘father sentiment’. If a wealthy Siddharth dirties his hands and toils in the fields for love in ‘Nuvosthanante Nenoddantana’, Mahesh does it for his pal in ‘Mahrishi’. The film has the necessary elements you expect from a Mahesh Babu-starrer and fans weren’t disappointed.

There has always been a crop of young directors bursting with not different stories, but fresh treatment that seem to emerge out of nowhere in Telugu cinema. They have stories to tell and don’t feel the need for stars to get noticed. Its sheer sharing on social media that helps them even if only a few find their work interesting. There are also old hands like Suresh Productions who may not have bankrolled the project but help in distributing the film effectively. The rest is in the hands of the paying public. Two recently released films that have done well are ‘Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya’ and ‘Brochevarevarura’. It’s not easy making detective dramas. The former is a delicious amalgam of Karamchand and Sherlock Holmes. He relies on his keen observation to aid his sleuthing skills. Of course, most cops hate him.

Navin Polishetty is a revelation and revels in the role of the verbose detective. A new genre seems to be ‘comedy crime caper’ and both these films pull it off effortlessly. The way the understudy is trained in ‘ASSA’ by asking her to watch western classics like ‘Usual Suspects’ are ingenious. The pile of unidentified corpses found near railway tracks and connecting it to his mother’s demise is pretty well done. The problems of the protagonist always need to have a personal connection for viewers to empathise is what pundits profess in cinema. The detailing towards the end narrated at breakneck speed is slightly exhausting though.

The comedy in Telugu cinema has always been delectable and not only by actors like Bramhanandam. The language itself is conducive for comedy. ‘Brochevarevaru Ra’ is brilliant right from the word go. The screen is littered with well defined, interesting characters driven off the oft-trodden path with the intention of doing good. There is a charm to the interaction between friends or the superb scene where a teacher distributes answer sheets that are a laugh riot. The film starts sedately about a struggling director looking to impress a prospective producer who insists on a particular female star to play the titular role. At one point you wonder whether it’s a film within a film, but the director’s shift from one narrative to the other, especially in the second half is seamless and could have been achieved only while writing and not on the editing table. There is an over enthusiasm to impress and a few holes, some glaring, but you quickly push them back to enjoy the moments of sheer madness. The performances are absolutely first rate. You just can’t say somebody has walked away with the acting honours. If the camaraderie between friends has you rolling watch the profound advise espoused by a cop to his friend about how to relate to his daughter.

Telugu cinema just does not need divine intervention to plead ‘Brochevarevaru Ra’. There is enough young talent to take care of its well-being.

sshivu@yahoo.com