Arundhathi Review

Appealing visuals combined with graphical technicalities has been producer M. Shyam Prasad Reddy's stronghold since his first inception `Ammoru' which gave way for wonders in Telugu cinema. Following the movie's smash hit `Anji' came posing an unique plot filled with twists and turns.

The delay in the release of Shyam Prasad's latest movie `Arundhathi' has no way affected its charm. His passion for cinema made him undergo such a long project that took 3 years to be conceived on celluloid. The makers unveiled the Sankranthi special film on Jan 16th that has made the audience spellbound.

The days and months of burning the mid-night oil and the filmmakers toil could be related on screen. When I come doesn't matter but how I impress when I arrive does. In the same way, the days we took to finish is not what matters but the quality work bought out does. These could be the words rewinding in Shyam Prasad's mind and it reflects in the end product. Read below for a concise review on `Arundhati'.

Story

The story unfolds with young girl Arundhati (Anushka)'s arrival to her ancestors palace located in the outskirts of Gadwal province. Engaged to her beloved Rahul (Deepak), she is filled with joy about her impending marriage. Arundhati's grandfather, Bhupathi Raja (Kaikala Satyanarayana) and Chandramma (Manorama), their loyal maid look upon her as the heiress in the lineage next to Jejamma (Anushka), the princess of Gadwal province three generations back.

The time shifts to the past revealing the daring princess Jejamma who fights and slays the evil doer Pashupathi (Sonu Sood). She restores peace in her reign and Pasupathi's soul prevails around his Samadhi bound by a magical spell. He awaits the time to break free and get his vengeance on the princess.

In the present, a couple on their way to meet Arundhathi with her wedding cards meets with an accident near the haveli (mansion). The lady goes missing and the man possessed by evil spirits breaks open the Samadhi. A Fakeer Anwar (Shayaji Shinde) who dwells around the place senses bad omen and summons Arundhathi to vacate the place for her own safety.

The Good VS Evil fight begins as Pashupathi mistakes Arundhathi for Jejamma and seeks revenge on her.

How the young girl Arundhati fights back the evil spirit and reigns over the evil doer in the present unveils on screen in a twisty, edge-of-the-seat narration filled with spellbinding visualization and astounding graphics.

Performance of Artists

Anushka, who appeared as a glamour doll till date, sheens in this new role that gives her space to perform onscreen. She is seen in a fresh antique look in one of the dual roles as Jejamma. Her performance as Arundhathi is also laudable. Although her work in a few scenes, in the second half is disappointing, her overall performance is appealing.

Sonu Sood the debuted star of 'Super' has improved considerably and his performance in the negative shade as Pashupathi is excellent. Ravi shankar's dubbing for the character brings life to the role on screen. The expressions and gestures of Subhashini who has played Pashupathi's mother is good.

Kaikala Satyanarayana has returned after a long gap in movies. Ahuthi Prasad, Chalapathi Rao, SivaParvathi, Annapurna, Manorama, Meena, Jayalalitha have all did well in their respected characters. Baby Divya who played Arundhathi in her childhood years has exhibited a notable performance. Shayaji Shinde as the fakeer has made his presence felt in the movie.

Technicians Work

Koti has composed excellent tracks for the movie. Even though he was prominently not heard for sometime, he has made a mark. Especially, his background musical score that stands as the main highlight for the film.

The most important aspect to be taken note of is the special effects. Bringing back the old palace to life (taking the audience to the past glory of the palace); the murders committed by Pashupathi; the climax sequences in the old palace; the scenes depicting the raise of the spirit from the dormant samadhi and creating a havoc are notable. All this was mainly because of Senthil Kumars photography, Ashok's creative work in construction of sets. Surely these are the key elements in the film. Rahul Nambiar's creativity is also good.

The dialogues 'Ammaale.bommaale.' written by Chinthapalli Ramana, has given a caricature for the character of Pashupathi. His dialogues for Arundhathi suit the feel.

MS Reddy, Dr C Narayana Reddy, Ananth Sriram and Veturi's lyrics are nice. The song penned for Jejamma is enjoyable.

Shivshankars choreography in the sequences, while the spirit is being bound with the spell, is exceptionally well. During the drum dance, if the re-recording had been done on a high pitch, it would have been even better in the cinema halls.

Shyam Prasad Reddy's pure passion for cinema unlike other producers interest in commercialism is evident in `Arundhathi'. Based on a heroine-centric subject, he has daringly invested 13 crores to churn out a spectacular entertainer sans compromise, which has re-established Mallemala Entertainments banner value.

Director's Portrayal

The director of cop stories, Kodi Ramakrishna got the name as the maker of graphical extravaganzas with M. Shyam Prasad Reddy's produced `Ammoru'. He was away busy with small time movies and some predicted he might join the list of veteran directors. He did come back with a big budget magnum opus like `Arundhathi' and reiterated his niche in creativity with this mile stone project.

Criticism

Shyam Prasad holds maximum credit for investing the huge amount in a woman oriented subject that didn't use Anushka's glam looks but her acting skills. His daring move has passed out with flying colors and has come out in glory. Even though two days late for the festival, `Arundhathi' is the latest sensation and box officer forecasters predict it will rain collections in the coming days.

In a nutshell, `Arundhathi' is Shyam Prasad's technical wonder that had brilliantly reached the target.

Released on: January 16, 2009