The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : New-look NTR rocks in this flick FILM REVIEW

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Thursday, Aug 16, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

New-look NTR rocks in this flick FILM REVIEW

NTR in ‘Yamadonga’

Film: Yamadonga (Telugu)

Cast: Mohan Babu, NTR

Director: Rajamouli

Rajamouli continues to prove himself a master of moods. There have been many movies on Yama, but this doesn’t feel like a dragged-out continuation of a series but rather a climactic, satisfying culmination. It is a socio-fantasy that’s delicate, yet cheeky and chic, a difficult balance to strike.

It’s all stuff you’ve seen before but it’s well crafted and the cast is so appropriate, packaged in gallons of gloss that Yamadonga meets all expectations of the genre. Mohan Babu remains a strong, stoic force in the centre, who brings class and intelligence to the role of Yama who develops sympathy for the human he’s targeting.

Right traces

NTR shows just the right traces of vulnerability to remind you that you’re watching an ordinary mortal. There are infinite scenes between Mohan Babu and NTR and the way the duo outsmart each other, the dialogues are completely in sync and trendy.

There is a dazzling display of intricately fluid choreography but it takes a while to digest NTR’s slim look.

Purposely stripped of overt emotions, the director’s feast of three hours with plots, sub plots take you to hell and back where there’s a constant flow of delectable dialogues, filled with puns. Ali and Brahmanandam are competent enough to give you a few laughs and the late NTR brings the house down with some inspiring counsel to his grandson.

Of course, there are many songs that don’t intercept the story flow and seem plausible. ‘Olammi Thikkeregindaa’ is a bit of a damp squib though and Priyamani’s make up is bad.

She nevertheless gets maximum space and makes optimum impact. Mamta Mohandas as the spirited girl struggled to get her Nellore dialect right but suited the role well. There are ‘hummable’ bunch of tracks, editing is swift and the photography is fine. The artwork, the costumes et al are all tasteful, such effectiveness stems from care committed to elevating boilerplate material into something genuinely worth our time.

Yamadonga is a real treat and may well be one of the best ensemble performances this year.

Y. SUNITA CHOWDHARY

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