Film: Mallepuvvu (2008)

Summary:
Mallepuvvu is a simple story of a construction worker and a girl that he accidentally meets.

What's it all about?
Koti (Muralikrishna), Suri (Samudra), Rattalu (Abhinayasri), and others (RK, Kovai Sarala, Suman Shetty, Geetha Singh, etc.) work in a construction site. Kanneganti Malleshwari a.k.a Malli (Bhumika) joins them in a masculine disguise. The police are on hunt for her and so are some goons. It's soon revealed that she came to India from Bangladesh. What's her background? Why did she come to India? Why did she resort to a disguise and work at a construction site? Watch on the silver screen through a story that flows through interesting twists and revelations.

Performances
Cast:
A lanky Muralikrishna, who debuts as a hero in the film, is at ease in his acting and dances. He has good screen presence. Bhumika is an apt choice for the performance-oriented role that requires portrayal of multitude of emotions. She's particularly good in the first half where she essentially uses expressions than dialogues, and acts with minimal makeup. She's beautiful in the second half of the film, particularly in the song suvvi suvvii suvvaalaa.... Director Samudra also appears in the film in a full-length role. He's good at acting, alright, and shows a surprising ease in fights. RK (Angrez fame 'mama') and Kovai Sarala are limited to a few scenes that are essentially comedy-oriented, and may catch up with certain sections among the audiences. Comedy track with Venumadhav is unconnected to the film and fails to evoke much laughter either. Farzana appears in the item song, while Abhinayasri appears in an insignificant character role.

Technical Departments:

The screenplay of the main story point is gripping, but the extra comedy track with Venumadhav is totally out of place. Story by Ramesh Varma, partly inspired by the Iranian film Baran, is touching and is adapted very well to the nativity, also touching on aspects such as terrorist attacks in the country today. The taking has Samudra's mark in particular in scenes shot at the construction site. Interval bang creates interest, and the twists in the second half are dealt with grippingly. Samudra, who has made his mark as a mass-oriented director, has taken care in directing this film that deals with several emotions. Dialogues are just okay. Music is surely the best highlight of the film; rerecording elevates the scenes greatly, as can be expected of Ilayaraja. Songs are shot well too, and are coupled with fitting lyrics. Editing is okay. Camerawork is good; color grading falters sometimes though. The producer should be appreciated for bringing forth a different film.

Notable Scenes/Dialogues:

• Venumadhav: "pedda hero-landarU queue kaTTi 'sir, maatO okka cinema cheyyanDi, sir' ani nannu batilmalaaDataaruraa!"
  Friend: "Cinema teesEsariki hero-landarU politics-lOkeLLipOtaaru!"
  Venumadhav: "appuDO pani chEstaa... politicians-ki hero-lugaa peDataa raa!"
• "MLA-lu, MP-lu debbalaaDukOvaTaaniki Seetaakaalam, enDaakaalam samaavESaalani peTTukuni koTTukunnTaaru. kaanee, veeLLaki aa time lEdu, ee time lEdu..." (Samudra to Muralikrishna, about RK and Kovai Sarala)
• Samudra: "nEniyaala pani cheyyanu. naaku pedda ganDamundi."
  RK: "Em raa, raatri kalalO nee jaatakam choosnavaa, Endi?!"
  Samudra: "lEdu, lEvagaanE nee moham kanapaDindi!"
• "dooramga pOtE anumaanistadi, daggarakostE sataayistadi!" (RK about his wife, Kovai Sarala)
• Venumadhav: "oka apple kaayO, battaayO teesukuni madhya place-lO dubhElmani vEddaam!"
  Friend: "Sir, adi Raghavendra Rao-ni copy koTTinaTTunTadi! booDida gummaDikaayO pucchakaayO ayitE correct anDii!"
• "India anTE entO andamgaa oohinchukunnaanu. kaanee, ippuDu choostunTE chaalaa bhayankaramgaa kanipistOndi." (Bhumika to Muralikrishna and Samudra)
• "100 kOTla mandi prajalunnaa ummaDi kuTumbamlaa haayigaa bratukutunnaam! meerendukuraa maaraNahOmam sRshTistunnaaru?" (Bhumika to terrorists)

Minor Overlook:

• When Bhumika's photograph is shown in the newspaper, the headlines are connected to the film but the news item that follows is about Abhinav Bindra's recent gold medal in Beijing Olympics.

Bottom Line:

Mallepuvvu is a clean movie with a story different from the routine. Good music, excellent rerecording, and good performances hold audiences' interest in the film. The first half of the movie moves on a slow paced but towards the end, it picks up the momentum. It could go on to be a minimum guarantee venture, and could serve as a good launch pad for the hero.

Sourced From:

1. Basic story line is taken from Baran (2001), an Iranian film, directed by Majid Majidi.
2. Also the story resembles to that of Sridevi starrer Gumrah (1993). (which was feemake of Bangkok hilton (1989) tv mini series)

Reviewer's Note: This review is being published before the film's theatrical release with prior permission from the moviemakers.

Review by NaChaKi

Related Links
Bhumika - Chitchat
Muralikrishna - Chitchat
V Samudra - Interview
Ramesh Varma on Mallepuvvu
Mallepuvvu - Audio review
Mallepuvvu - Abroad Schedules
TC Rating: 3.25/5