It’s Arundhati fever for the Telugu Film Audience

The Telugu film industry has been at the cross roads for sometime. While on the one hand you have the big movies with the big stars, producers & directors who mainly try to cater to the fans of the stars, you also have a new set of filmmakers who have started getting noticed with their small movies. The New Year 2009 started off mainly for the Telugu film industry in the middle of January with Pongal/Sankranti – an important festival. This year’s Pongal releases were mainly veteran producer M.S.Raju’s Maska- directed by B.Gopal ,starring Ram,Hansika & Sheela, Allari Naresh’s Fitting Master and director Kodi Ramarishna’s Arundhati with Anushka,Sonu Sood & Sayaji Shinde.
Maska was supposed to carry good reports with Ram on a high after last year’s big hit- Ready & Hansika being quite popular as well. Fitting Master is a trademark Allari Naresh movie & was expected to make money as it was a low budget movie. But Arundhati was a surprise element. People were not sure about its prospects. At a budget of 13 crores it was a big risk considering it was a female oriented movie & belonged to the horror/thriller genre. But as the festival drew nearer more & more screens seemed to be getting added for Arundhati & the speculative talk was good based on the promos.
On Pongal day-14th Jan, the verdict was out. Maska the popular choice was struggling to stay in the race, Fitting Master was not as good as the last few Allari Naresh’s movies but Arundhati was a winner & a gigantic one at that. People of all kinds seemed to throng the theatres to watch the movie. The direction by Kodi Ramakrishna & the acting by Anushka, Sonu Sood & Sayaji Shinde is getting appreciated by one & all. The movie begins with Anushka’s wedding preparations in Hyderabad. She is supposed to get married to Arjun Bajwa (of Fashion fame) & all of a sudden a turn of events brings her to her native place in Gadwal Samasthanam.
There in a dilapidated old palace lies the spirit of Pasupathy ( Sonu Sood) who was a very wicked man & the brother in law of Arundhati ( Anushka again) the queen of Gadwal 3 generations ago. The present Arundhati is supposed to be the re-incarnation of the previous queen & since Pasupathy’s spirit wants revenge against Arundhati, it now unleashes terror upon the area. Sayaji Shinde plays a Fakir- Anwar, who helps Arundhati in this crusade. Watch the movie to know what exactly happened to Arundhati & Pasupathy in the past and how Arundhati faces up to the challenge of Pasupathy in the present.
At times the special effects do look tacky but overall the sets look very grand and the canvas of the movie looks quite impressive. But mind you the movie is not a feel good fun loving movie, nor is it any realistic portrayal. It’s escapist cinema with its share of chills and thrills. And yes with an A certificate its better to keep children away from the movie as some of the scenes are indeed gory.
Kodi Ramakrishna who shot into prominence with Ammoru (Amman in Tamil) had a major disaster with Chiranjeevi’s Anji & is back to top form. Anushka couldn’t have asked for a better project as she’s seized the opportunity with both hands & delivered a great performance. Sonu Sood is outstanding – he continues to improve with each movie, Sayaji Shinde finally manages to get something different from his stereotypical roles & does well. Shyam Prasad Reddy the producer has lots to cheer from the movie as its getting dubbed in a few other languages & there are talks of remaking it in Hindi.
Though Charmee ( Anukokunda Oka Roju, Mantra ), Bhoomika ( Missama, Anasuya) & Mumait Khan ( Maisamma IPS) have done a few noticeable female oriented movies, they have all been either movies catering to the A centers ( AOR, Mantra,Missama & Anasuya) or to the B& C centers ( Maisamma IPS). But Arundhati is a universal hit & that makes the success of the movie even more special. Well into the 4th week of its run, the movie is still attracting its audiences. It’s truly Arundhati fever for the Telugu film audience.

Note- Originally published on PFC.Check it out here
http://passionforcinema.com/its-arundhati-fever-for-the-telugu-film-audience/