A frequent viewer of Telugu films can make a checklist of things he will come across in the film, depending on the genre, and can tick most of the points at the end of the film. Such is the repetitiveness we’ve come to accept as an audience. Filmmakers don’t take to it kindly when critics or viewers on social networking forums point out that many Telugu films have become repetitive and redundant. Don’t compare us with Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil industries, they insist.
For every repulsive no-brainer like Grand Masti and R… Rajkumar, Hindi cinema also has noteworthy films like Kai Po Che, Shahid, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, The Lunchbox and Special 26 among others. The Tamil industry has its quota of silliness in films like All in All Azhagu Raja, but there’s the irreverent, offbeat wave — Soodhu Kavvum and Moodar Koodam for example.
The Malayalam industry is reinventing itself with films like Amen, 22 Female Kottayam and others.
Every industry has the predicament of big-budget flicks blotting out the indies and fewer filmmakers wanting to risk unconventional storylines. But there’s an attempt to rise above the mundane. Such attempts are fewer in Telugu. Hope lies in a few filmmakers looking to break the monopoly of big players.
In the meantime, isn’t it high time clichés are done away with?
Let the laughter begin
Everything can and has to wait when a funny man — could vary from Brahmanandam to M.S. Narayana, Ali to Vennela Kishore and others — unleashes one gag after another. It doesn’t matter if months after watching a film you don’t remember much of the film but a few smart lines. Remember “Idhi edho bagundhe, twitter-lo pettu” by M.S. Narayana in Baadsdhah? As filmmaker Revenge Nageswara Rao who makes films on crime and underworld and has an affair with heroines who act in his films, Narayana guaranteed laughs. But these episodes had no connection with the story.
Brahmanandam kept the audience in splits with his ‘Ahalya Amayakuralu’ episode in Attarintiki Daredi and livened up an ordinary film like Doosukeltha with his presence, but the comic episodes fell flat in a number of other films. No, making Brahmanandam tap his bald pate in distress, once too often, doesn’t count as comedy.
Is it too much to expect of our filmmakers to make this fun an integral part of the storyline than a collection of gags?
In disguise
In one of the scenes in Attarintiki Daaredi, Pawan Kalyan is shown watching golden hits where the hero is in disguise trying to win over people who matter to him. Trivikram Srinivas revisited an idea done-to-death but delivered an entertaining family drama to the massive fan base of Pawan Kalyan. The aunt (Nadiya) was graceful and Pawan Kalyan, in the climax, proved he could also strike an emotional chord with viewers. All this is fine but we hope Trivikram Srinivas, one of the better writers and filmmakers in this industry, will give us something more innovative than relying on a story that’s been rehashed since the time of Gundamma Katha.
Also, there was Bhai where a supposedly dreaded don (played by Nagarjuna) taking on a different identity to win over his family members.
Globetrotters
Most mafia gangs in our films have had their headquarters in Thailand or Malaysia, until recently. You got to give it to them for thinking out of the box — now they explore Dubai, Spain, Italy and Hong Kong. What they do in these countries is irrelevant to the story and becomes an excuse to mask bad storylines and narration with gorgeous visuals. The mafia men in these countries mostly speak Telugu. Yes, even a police station in Malaysia has Indian cops, particularly Telugu-speaking ones (Shadow).
Pack a punch
Nenu yevarannadhi mystery... Nenu create chesedhi history... Adugesthe victory (Shadow).
Bhai tho pettukunte chaavu ki tatkal ticket book chesinatte; Mafia ki grammar techindi nene, nerpindi nene; Mafia anne magazine ki Bhai cover story lantivadu.
(Bhai)
Such ‘punch lines’ make us wonder if the writer/director sold the film to the actor purely based on these lines and then wrote the story. Some lines are so cringe-worthy you throw up your hands in despair.
Seriously, haven’t we had enough of these?
We like other heroes too
At first it seemed like ingenuity but now, it’s become repetitive. Have you kept count of the films that imitated Gabbar Singh’s antakshari? For example, Shadow re-enacted the antakshari episode, Bhai made a reference to Pokiri and Attarintiki Daredi. Referring to Pawan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu hits has become so common that it looks like a desperate attempt to stay in the good books of different fan bases and win their support.
Enter the star
Irrespective of the genre, filmmakers feel compelled to abide by the ‘introduction scene’ syndrome. The hero might enter amidst smoke, on a chopper or to drum rolls after punching a goon so hard that he is air-bound before landing with a thud at the farthest end of the screen. A typical heroine, on the other hand, has to step out of a car in rain. Reema Sen’s entry in Gautham Menon’s Cheli (Minnale) has been overdone now. Or, show the girl involved in a charitable act, helping the disabled or school children (this can be blamed on Ghajini). Overdo such introductions and it all looks pretentious.
Talk like the young
On the other end of the arc there are the so-called youth-centric films trying to talk cool. Throw in a few mentions of ‘cell phone recharging’ to ‘change of SIM card’ to ‘new connection’ and we’re supposed to comprehend temporary relationships.
