After a good line of films, I am now going to watch Mani Ratnam's only straight Telugu film Geethanjali. As far as I know, this is a cult classic in TFI. Some of its scenes are so iconic, they are forever etched in the sub-conscious minds of every TFI lover. I also love the songs of the film really much. So, it is bound that I would watch it. How the film feel to me? Let's find out.
Geethanjali is a 1989 Telugu romantic drama starring Akkineni Nagarjuna, Girija Shettar in the lead roles. It is directed by Mani Ratnam. The story revolves Prakash and Geethanjali, deeply in love but might their lives soon. Their love story sums up the entire story.
The screenplay of the film is magical and will only remain as a one-time experience. The magic of Mani Ratnam is still present but offers much more. The writing of the film is very deep and emotional. The theme of the movie is one part tragedy and two parts romance. Thus this film creates a unique environment. The first half of the film is very fun to watch with the Geethanjali's pranks and Prakash's counters but then the famous interval twist comes along which I guess shocked most of the audience at the time. What follows after is a love story that I consider Mani Ratnam's best yet. Geethanjali has brought a change in Prakash's life and they learn about accepting death together. In this process, both fall in love..pure love. It is also modern in a way that the parents are not the obstacle for their love and symbolically their love has now won death. Also, the hero being ANR's son benefits this film because this can be said a modern version of Devadasu which is original for its time. You can observe that one reference to Devadasu in the first half of the film. So, in many ways this film is a masterpiece and can never be replicated. But, I have one small issue with the film. Deliberately, the film added an unnecessary track with Disco Shanti and Sutti Velu that only added to the length of the movie. It did not affect the main plot of the story anyway. Also, such stuff is really dated for the modern audience maybe even for that time. Except that, I would say that this is Mani Ratnam's best love story ever.
The acting of the film is solid. First of all, if you ask our modern heroes to act as a Cancer patient, many would have said 'no'. But, kudos to Nagarjuna to actually accept this role. Then, the acting. It is really very good. He really understood the tragedy and situation of the character and delivered the best. Girija Shettar as the titular role is excellent. She was looking very cute and charming. But, then the actress succeeded in bringing the depth in that role with her acting. She should worked in many more films. Veteran actors Vijay Kumar and Sumithra as the Geethanjali's father and Prakash's mother respectively are very good in the film. They get some important scenes in the film where emotion is the main requirement. They nailed it in these scenes with perfection and so these scenes are powerful and impactful. Radhabai as Geethanjali's loving and traditional grandmother shines in the film and delivers some very humorous yet emotional scenes.
The technical aspects of the film are a revelation for the time. It is a beautiful film. The film is shot in Ooty and some other places. The cinematographer PC Sreeram captures the beautiful farms, the mist, the hills and the the houses beautifully. In some important scenes, the cinematographer sprinkles some of his magic dust on them to give them meaning just with the angle of his shot. The editing of the film too is smooth, it is definitely slow but it is meant to be that way. Then comes the music. Listening to several tracks of Ilayaraaja, I came out with his method of music. He tries to use classical Carnatic music and incorporate them into the genre of the film. So, if his songs are at base level, they are soothing to hear and if they are chartbusters, they remain in our minds forever. With Geethanjali, the music director gets some solid inspiration and so he makes some songs that match the theme of the film that is tragedy and romance. Also, there is a horror song and introduction songs. Never mind. These songs are cult classics. The best songs though are the tragic songs. They are really very good. The locations of the film are stunning. The costume design partly inspired by Devadasu is trend-setting. It seems my mom bought the same dress the heroine wears in "Jallantha" song. Overall, this film was a trend-setter at the time.
This film was like Arjun Reddy at that time. Trend-setting contemporary love story that has a great storyline, brilliant acting, beautiful visuals, melodious songs and a one-time experience. Watch it on youtube for free if you have not watched it.
The screenplay of the film is magical and will only remain as a one-time experience. The magic of Mani Ratnam is still present but offers much more. The writing of the film is very deep and emotional. The theme of the movie is one part tragedy and two parts romance. Thus this film creates a unique environment. The first half of the film is very fun to watch with the Geethanjali's pranks and Prakash's counters but then the famous interval twist comes along which I guess shocked most of the audience at the time. What follows after is a love story that I consider Mani Ratnam's best yet. Geethanjali has brought a change in Prakash's life and they learn about accepting death together. In this process, both fall in love..pure love. It is also modern in a way that the parents are not the obstacle for their love and symbolically their love has now won death. Also, the hero being ANR's son benefits this film because this can be said a modern version of Devadasu which is original for its time. You can observe that one reference to Devadasu in the first half of the film. So, in many ways this film is a masterpiece and can never be replicated. But, I have one small issue with the film. Deliberately, the film added an unnecessary track with Disco Shanti and Sutti Velu that only added to the length of the movie. It did not affect the main plot of the story anyway. Also, such stuff is really dated for the modern audience maybe even for that time. Except that, I would say that this is Mani Ratnam's best love story ever.
The acting of the film is solid. First of all, if you ask our modern heroes to act as a Cancer patient, many would have said 'no'. But, kudos to Nagarjuna to actually accept this role. Then, the acting. It is really very good. He really understood the tragedy and situation of the character and delivered the best. Girija Shettar as the titular role is excellent. She was looking very cute and charming. But, then the actress succeeded in bringing the depth in that role with her acting. She should worked in many more films. Veteran actors Vijay Kumar and Sumithra as the Geethanjali's father and Prakash's mother respectively are very good in the film. They get some important scenes in the film where emotion is the main requirement. They nailed it in these scenes with perfection and so these scenes are powerful and impactful. Radhabai as Geethanjali's loving and traditional grandmother shines in the film and delivers some very humorous yet emotional scenes.
The technical aspects of the film are a revelation for the time. It is a beautiful film. The film is shot in Ooty and some other places. The cinematographer PC Sreeram captures the beautiful farms, the mist, the hills and the the houses beautifully. In some important scenes, the cinematographer sprinkles some of his magic dust on them to give them meaning just with the angle of his shot. The editing of the film too is smooth, it is definitely slow but it is meant to be that way. Then comes the music. Listening to several tracks of Ilayaraaja, I came out with his method of music. He tries to use classical Carnatic music and incorporate them into the genre of the film. So, if his songs are at base level, they are soothing to hear and if they are chartbusters, they remain in our minds forever. With Geethanjali, the music director gets some solid inspiration and so he makes some songs that match the theme of the film that is tragedy and romance. Also, there is a horror song and introduction songs. Never mind. These songs are cult classics. The best songs though are the tragic songs. They are really very good. The locations of the film are stunning. The costume design partly inspired by Devadasu is trend-setting. It seems my mom bought the same dress the heroine wears in "Jallantha" song. Overall, this film was a trend-setter at the time.
This film was like Arjun Reddy at that time. Trend-setting contemporary love story that has a great storyline, brilliant acting, beautiful visuals, melodious songs and a one-time experience. Watch it on youtube for free if you have not watched it.
IMDb Rating : 8.2/10
My Rating : 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment