Coronavirus has just shut all theatres down. Everybody is in lockdown. I watched away all the Telugu films of the year and am left with no new mainstream Telugu films to watch. Also, the disastrous OTT film "Run" on Aha added to the pain. So, I had a look at some of the major releases of the year in the two Telugu-speaking states. In them, at least 5-6 films are remakes of some other language films. They include: Vakeel Saab (PINK), Krack (SETHUPATHI), That is Mahalakshmi (QUEEN), Red (THADAM), Narappa (ASURAN) etc., But, the film that really caught my attention was Uma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya. It is a remake of the 2016 Malayalam film Maheshinte Pratikaraam. So, I thought I will give a look at this Malayalam film in order to satisfy my hunger for new Telugu films.
This is my opinion about the film and also a trailer breakdown of the remake so that you can decide your priorities.
Maheshinte Pratikaaram is a 2016 Malayalam revenge comedy drama starring Fahaadh Faasil, Soubin Shabeer, Aparna Balamurali, Alencier Lay Lopez and Anusree in the lead roles. It is directed by Dileesh Pothan. The story revolves around Mahesh Bhavana, a photographer who tries to avenge his embarrassment caused by a stranger.
The story and screenplay of the film is interesting to say the least. For the audience who want entertainment it is a very clever comedy. But, here is the catch. The world built in here is so good and so natural that you instantly connect to each character and when they crack a joke, you laugh heartily. This is the strongest positive of the film. Let me break it down for you. The film's first 5 minutes is an introduction to the village the film is in set in, Idukki. Kudos to the songwriter who wrote this song ,the music director and the cinematography because they breathe life into these mere pictures with a very apt comparison of the village/town to a beautiful lady. (That's what the english subtitles said though.) Then, it introduces the characters. The characters here are brought alive because of the strong acting and good writing. We get to see a relationship between Soumya and Mahesh from their high-school days which is cute but has a bitter end because of obvious reasons. Then, comes the series of events which lead to the main conflict of the film, the revenge. I really liked the theme behind these series of events, the anger. It was really funny yet gripping. That is why, this complete episode is quite enjoyable. But, it is revealed that the guy who hit him has fled to Dubai for a better job. The second half of the film really embraces the realism, wit and charm in a revenge plot. We get to see Jimsy, sister of Jimson the bad guy in the movie. In a scene, she criticises Mahesh in a photoshoot due to the nature of his photography. This point actually gets a buildup from the first half as he goes "Chin Up", "Shoulders Down", "Chin Down", "Eyes Open" every time he clicks a photo. So, it gets a fitting close as they also answer some of our questions in the first half about Mahesh's father. Mahesh gets to know the real meaning of photography and in this progress falls in love with Jimsy. I had a complain about this part because it slowed proceedings a bit and I was waiting for the final conflict. Then, the final conflict comes and the film ends in a very fun note. It was a whistle-worthy climax as Mahesh comes to hospital and asks for marrying Jimsy in front of the wounded Jimson who was beaten up by Mahesh himself.
POSITIVES:
This is my opinion about the film and also a trailer breakdown of the remake so that you can decide your priorities.
The story and screenplay of the film is interesting to say the least. For the audience who want entertainment it is a very clever comedy. But, here is the catch. The world built in here is so good and so natural that you instantly connect to each character and when they crack a joke, you laugh heartily. This is the strongest positive of the film. Let me break it down for you. The film's first 5 minutes is an introduction to the village the film is in set in, Idukki. Kudos to the songwriter who wrote this song ,the music director and the cinematography because they breathe life into these mere pictures with a very apt comparison of the village/town to a beautiful lady. (That's what the english subtitles said though.) Then, it introduces the characters. The characters here are brought alive because of the strong acting and good writing. We get to see a relationship between Soumya and Mahesh from their high-school days which is cute but has a bitter end because of obvious reasons. Then, comes the series of events which lead to the main conflict of the film, the revenge. I really liked the theme behind these series of events, the anger. It was really funny yet gripping. That is why, this complete episode is quite enjoyable. But, it is revealed that the guy who hit him has fled to Dubai for a better job. The second half of the film really embraces the realism, wit and charm in a revenge plot. We get to see Jimsy, sister of Jimson the bad guy in the movie. In a scene, she criticises Mahesh in a photoshoot due to the nature of his photography. This point actually gets a buildup from the first half as he goes "Chin Up", "Shoulders Down", "Chin Down", "Eyes Open" every time he clicks a photo. So, it gets a fitting close as they also answer some of our questions in the first half about Mahesh's father. Mahesh gets to know the real meaning of photography and in this progress falls in love with Jimsy. I had a complain about this part because it slowed proceedings a bit and I was waiting for the final conflict. Then, the final conflict comes and the film ends in a very fun note. It was a whistle-worthy climax as Mahesh comes to hospital and asks for marrying Jimsy in front of the wounded Jimson who was beaten up by Mahesh himself.
POSITIVES:
- The Acting : Fahaad Faasil is such a gem. His acting in the film is just pure gold. He was literally expressing multiple feelings with his eyes which is a rare feat. Wonder if he learnt it from the Lalettan himself. Aparna Balamurali as Jimsy also really won me. Her expressions were damn impressive and her chemistry with Fahaad was really good. Soubin Shabeer and Alencier Lay Lopez in smaller roleshave given some good performances as they fit in the environment of the film seamlessly. The director Dileesh Pothen and Unnimaya Prasad also appear in smaller cameo appearances also give good performances.
- The Writing : I have broke down the film enough that you know it is a very unique and well detailed film. The dialogues of the film are also very good and bring out some good laughs.
- The Cinematography, the Editing and the Music : I kept all 3 of them together the best moments of the film have come because of all 3 sectors working well together. All the songs are beautiful to listen to. Added to that, when the cinematographer captured the beauty of Idduki in a very soulful manner the songs become even more beautiful. The editing also is very good. It is really very good.
NEGATIVES:
- Smaller parts of the film : I say this because of the parts in the second half especially the very charming but slow love story between Jimsy and Mahesh. It really pulled the pace down. Also, some bits throughout the film should have edited out.
- As you can see, I am struggling to pick negatives here and so you know it is a perfect and unique film.
So, in conclusion I would say this film is one of the perfect Malayalam movies till date. It is because of the unique writing which blended in comedy and revenge drama together in an interesting manner. The acting, music, cinematography, editing and dialogues are big added bonuses that lifted the film from a script to a very real village. You should not care about any more reviews and just jump right into it on ...(www.Movier....com)... and make sure you stay for the teaser analysis of "Umamaheshwara Ugra Roopasya".
IMDb Rating : 8.3/10
My Rating : 9/10
Now, the teaser breakdown of Uma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya. From the teaser, two things are certain. Satyadev Kancharana is the best found choice for the role of Mahesh and Venkatesh Maha is the best available choice for directing it. Arka Mediaworks who produced the epic Baahubali series bankrolled this feature and kept faith in the C/O Kancherapalem director. I also feel that it is his comfort zone to direct feature films based on villages. In the teaser, I saw some new faces as the heroines. Senior Telugu actor Naresh is doing the role of Babychettan wonderfully done by Alincier Lay Lopez and Suhaas is playing the role of Crispin originally played by Soubin Shabber. The film also backs the same songs from the original film by Bijbal which are awesome anyway. The lyrics of them seem to be good as I hear to the Telugu version of Idukki. From the trailer, it seems to be a shot-to-shot remake but I feel the director has changed up some scenes. One thing the director will find challenges in is the tone of the film which is serious yet funny. Also, some frames in the film suggest some flaws in the making of the film as some of the photoshoot scenes look exaggerated a bit. Here's me hoping for the best for Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya.
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