The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : ‘Honest’ and refreshing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 18, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

‘Honest’ and refreshing

A still from ‘Banam’

Film: Banam

Cast: Nara Rohit, Vedika, Sayaji Shinde.

Direction: Chaitanya Dantuluri.

As has been showcased during its promotion the past weeks and months, this debut of the Three Angels Studio is a clean and honest film sans the usual frills of mainstream commercial cinema. The punch line for the film, according to producer Priyanka Chalasani, is ‘An honest film’ and the director, debutant Chaitanya, has not deviated much from the promise.

According to the story, Nara Rohit plays Bhagat Panigrahi, son of Chandrasekhar Panugrahi, a former naxalite who quits the outfit to join the mainstream of society, a role essayed to perfection by Sayaji Shinde.

Bhagat wishes to become an IPS officer to cleanse society and manages to clean up his part of the world, of a baddie called Shakti, a role carried off with a certain degree of class by Ranadhir. Rajiv Kanakala, Bhanuchander and every other character too, carried it off with élan. Over three-quarters of the film is true to its promotion and only in the second half it appears to look a bit commercial. Apparently, the director had to end the film the way it should. In this case, it is all’s well that ends well and the baddies are simply ‘obliterated’ without much ado.

It is very, very refreshing to see the heroine and hero professing love for each other without actually saying it out aloud and hugging each other repeatedly. Mani Sarma’s music appears to do the talking for a majority of the film.

Swapna, Priyanka and Shravanthi, the daughters of C. Ashwini Dutt, have taken up a bold experiment and lived up to expectations. However, in an age when people want to see the hero running around trees chasing the heroine and doing incredible stunts, apart from bashing up the baddies, this film with a message will take time to sink into the minds of movie-lovers.

SURESH KRISHNAMOORTHY

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh