Anaganaga O Dheerudu Review

Walt Disney's debut production in Telugu, 'Anaganaga O Dheerudu' starring Siddharth, Shruti Haasan and Laxmi Manchu was touted as one of the most awaited films of this year. Directed by K Raghavendar Rao's son Prakash Kovelamudi, the trailers of this socio fantasy evoked massive curiosity among the audience. The movie crew went gaga over the film on twitter and promoted the film in every possible way. The magnum opus released with huge expectations all over the state.

 

 

Irendri(Laxmi Manchu) is an evil snake queen who occupies the throne of 'Anga' kin'gdom. Her cruelity known no bounds and tired of her. She casts her evil spell on children in Agarta region of her kingdom. One of the parent suggests that they go in search of a little girl 'Moksha' who is blessed with noble powers which can heal their kids. 'Moksha' is in a divine ashram under the protection of 'Yodha'(Siddharth) a blind body guard.A parent comes to the ashram and requests the Guruji(Subbaraya Sarma) to send Moksha to Agarta to heal their kids.Guruji agrees to his requests and sends her with Yodha as her body guard. Enroute, Yodha narrates his story to Moksha on how he became blind.He reveals how much he loved Priya(Sruthi Haasan) a fortune teller, whom he had met at a carnival few months ago. Yodha gets blinded as he tried to protect Priya from a local king(Ravibabu).Meanwhile, Irendri is told by her snake messengers that she needs to give Moksha as a sacrifice in order to attain salvation.The rest of the story is on how Irendri finds Moksha, what is the connection between her and Priya and if Yodha manages to protect Moksha.

 

 

Siddharth is absolutely not convicing as a warrior. His Telugu has a heavy urban accent which doesn't match his charecter. He is a classic case of wrong casting for the right role.  Shruti Haasan is beautiful in every frame of the film. She is potrayed splendidly and is a treat to watch.  Shruti did well in her damsel in distress role in this film. The saving grace of this much hyped movie is Laxmi Manchu.She unleashes reservoir of energy hidden in her for years.H er body language, dialogue modulation, expressions and laugh reverberate villainism to the core. Laxmi is dominating and dynamic.Subtract her, and the movie falls flat. She is outstanding and is here to stay. Comedians Bramhanandam and Ali had only one scenes each. Tanikella Bharani's role too is pigmy short .Ravibabu delivers a whistle worthy performance as a comedy villain.

 

 

The costumes are a visual treat. Shruti Haasan, Siddharth and Laxmi look a million bucks in those splendid and flamboyant outfits. Shruti's naval is seen almost everytime she is on screen and she is superhot.The make up artistes too need a pat on their backs for a good job. Laxmi's make up by Mumbai team adds to her captivating look. Only one song, 'Ninnu Choodani' by Anuj is ear soothing and the rest are yawn inducing. The background score is not upto the mark. Saleem Sulaiman who gave the background score, shamelessly copied 'Chaand Sifarish' music from his own film 'Fanaa' in a couple of scenes.  The Arabic background score to Telugu movie don't suit one bit.In many scenes, people around are wearing costumes like belly dancers and Arabians which was funny to the core. Siddharth is a big draw back to the film. He is not serious and no match to the tall villain Laxmi. The story is known to everyone who has ever watched a film and the narration is pathetic. The visual affects are not upto the mark. A few sets are clearly identifiable. The only good thing about visual effects is those snakes in a rope form that come from Laxmi's hair and talk to her.Barring Ali's one scene comedy, not a single frame in this film has comic scene. The scenes where Irendri's masked men chase little girl Moksha are so badly shot and makes you cringe and frown. The movie is a let down in many ways and is not in commensurate with the hype generated by the director and its twitterati stars.

 

 

'AOD' is a predictable story narrated very badly. The visual effects might interest kids. But, go to this film only if you don't get the tickets for 'Mirapakayi'.

 

Released on: 14th Jan, 2011