New Age Cinema: Content is the KING this Summer

For many film lovers, 2018 was the Golden year as it saw the rise of many young talents and acclaimed films. Star heroes also scored hits and blockbusters in the previous year. Summer is the best season for producers to release films as many films can bank on the vacation period. Even this summer turned out as successful for Telugu Cinema.

As of now, the only two big films released in Telugu in 2019 are Ram Charan’s Vinaya Vidheya Rama, and Mahesh Babu’s Maharshi, out of which one is a disaster and another one is a commercial hit. Probably this is the summer which I have been waiting for many years with good films releasing every week starting from Ugadi to the last week of June.

Out of many films released in Summer 2019, let’s discuss the films that I've seen:

1. Majili: A regular love story in the first half followed by the not-so-new second half. This film recorded a hit at the BO. Though the story is routine, what connected many is the screenplay of the movie and the performances from the lead actors and Rao Ramesh. According to me, it’s just a watchable movie with good music and songs.
2. Chitralahari: Story of a guy who is projected as a failure by society and himself. This movie scored a decent hit, recovering most of the money invested. More than anything, I loved the transformation of Sai Tej (he changed his name) both physically and performance-wise. Nothing much to take away, this is also a watchable movie with some good moments.
3. Jersey: Must watch for movie lovers. Nani answered many people, including me that he’s choosing challenging scripts unlike earlier. Every aspect of filmmaking beautifully supplemented other. All the actors lived their roles. A perfect blend of cricket and emotions.
4. Maharshi: A typical commercial-message oriented movie from Mahesh Babu. Keeping aside the last 30 minutes, the whole movie is one time watchable with many routine scenes that remind us of Mahesh Babu from Srimanthudu and Bharat Ane Nenu. He played a safe game with this movie and with no other releases, this film turned out to be a commercial blockbuster. But I connected to the last 30 minutes.
5. Falaknuma Das: A movie on our city, our language, and our culture. I was pretty much satisfied with the movie because of the characters, plot, and performances. Though it’s a remake of Malayalam “Angamaly Diaries”, I feel it is connected to the local masses. A realistic movie with fewer complaints. Kudos to Viswak Sen for directing this movie along with playing the lead role. Special mention to the Surprise Package from Tharun Bhascker!

6. Game Over: Out of many films that I’ve seen to date, this is the only movie with multiple sub-plots, multiple versions that audience can see through, with a strong message that is conveyed with the characters and premise. All hail to the writers and director Ashwin Saravanan and producer Sashikanth for the content they have delivered. All the actors performed well with Taapsee shining in her role, especially the very first anniversary reaction scene. A perfect example of teamwork. If someone is interested to talk more about this movie, I’m happy to discuss :).

7. Agent Sai Sreenivasa Athreya: After many years, Telugu cinema has got a Detective thriller. The team started impressing us with the first look posters and continued it with the film too. One of the finest thrillers we have had. The background score of the film is so awesome that I started tapping my foot during the movie. Mark K Robin requires special mention along with Naveen Polishetty and director Swaroop.

8. Brochevaarevaru Ra: Crime comedy with importance given to each and every character. This is the new-age cinema that needs to be applauded and celebrated. All the characters performed well with both Viveks succeeded well in engaging the audience throughout the movie. After Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi, this movie made me laugh, clap, and at the end connected so well that I’m still in its hangover. I’ll be writing a separate article about this movie this week. So, please don’t mind with this small para about this.

Apart from these movies, we had a few more good releases like Mallesham, Kalki, and NGK. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance of watching these movies. But as far as I heard, Mallesham is doing exceptionally well and critically acclaimed.

Now, lets come to the most important part: What is common between most of the movies here?

The answer is: Most of the directors broke the much-hyped Second movie jinx. The directors are Shiva Nirvana (Ninnu Kori and Majili), Gowtham Tinnanuri (Malli Rava & Jersey), Ashwin Saravanan (Mayuri & Game Over), and Vivek Athreya (Mental Madhilo & Brochevaarevaru Ra).

Also, Vivek Sagar has two releases this Summer: Falaknuma Das and Brochevaarevaru Ra for which we can’t stop praising him. Also, Mark K Robin had two releases on the same day: Mallesham and Agent Sai Sreenivasa Athreya.

The next one could be on Brochevaarevaru Ra. Even I’m excited to write about it!

Do you feel something can be added here? Comment below. I’d love to hear from you :)

Love,
Pd.