The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : View this if you have spare time

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Saturday, Jul 04, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

View this if you have spare time

Film: Oye

Cast: Siddarth, Shamilee

Direction: Anand Ranga

Telugu cinema can thrive even without original themes if treated by clever filmmakers. But films such as this will not only make you feel the pinch on the pocket but will also remind one to put time to perfect use.

Oye is a pastiche of scenes from many different Telugu films, and also the structure of the film helps the audience recall the famous Maniratnam’s Gitanjali, except the hero here doesn’t die.

No creativity

This film marks the debut of child artiste Shamilee as heroine and she, the hero’s first love, calls him ‘Oye!’ Except for the novel title, the director hardly pays any attention to developing the plot or creating memorable scenes and there is no spark of creativity.

Sandhya (Shamilee) has everything going wrong for her, her name not withstanding. The bespectacled young lady has a sad story, her grandfather dies and when her parents go to immerse the ashes, they are killed in an accident. Now her granny goes to do the pious job and she dies too.

Sandhya hopes to empty the urn in Kasi but before that she is diagnosed as having cancer. But much before that she falls in love with Uday (Siddarth), though he is the one who woos her and lives in her home as a paying guest.

Siddarth teaches the serious looking Shamilee to enjoy life and introduces her to the little pleasures in life. He takes her on ten-day trip to Kasi and by the end of it she gives him gifts and tells him that she loves him too.

Siddarth perfectly suits and vindicates the maturity of the role he plays. Some scenes involving Shamilee look meaningless and overboard.

A reticent, bespectacled, traditional girl suddenly exulting, going berserk looks out of place.

Songs good

Moreover, after the news that the she is going to succumb to the illness is let out, there is not much to look forward and sit through the rest of the film. Shamilee is slightly on the heavier side, looks cut out only for conservative roles, while she is quite comfortable with camera. Technically the film is just passable, but songs are interesting.

The movie is good enough to fill your spare time if you just want to see how Shamilee now looks like.

Y. Sunita Chowdhary

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