I watch Telugu movies

very selectively on screen for the simple reason that I do not understand the language and I’m better off watching on DVD with subtitles.

But then, just like how we believe music has no language, the same can be said of movies too. You don’t need to understand the language to enjoy the songs, dance and technical brilliance of a movie.

So I do try and watch some movies that are anticipated or reviewed to be technically brilliant with good background score on the silver screen - which no plasma or Bose can substitute.

I had earlier watched Prabhas’ Chatrapathi and liked Rajamouli’s direction. Friends told me about his impressive resume and he is probably the one exception for me where hero or review is not the primary reason I decide to see a Telugu film.

So when the buzz about Magadheera started hitting the media, I kinda made a note at the back of my mind that I should try and see this Rajamouli film if possible.

Then about 3 days before the release, a buddy sent me the trailer clip of the opening song with the “5 men slide out” step and it increased my curiosity. On Friday morning, at work, I saw Jeevi review was out for the film and on reading it, it was clear that it was a movie worth to be seen on screen.

The only catch was, both this and Love Aaj Kal were given good reviews and LAK had subtitles. I still decided to go for Magadheera since it seemed to have more elements for the silver screen. But to my dismay, the ticket was priced at $15 !!! .

I felt angered and left thinking that I am not going to watch this for $15. The next night, me and my friend went to see Love Aaj Kal and at the theatre, we were wondering if we should sacrifice the popcorn & pop and still see Magadheera.

Finally we decided to go for it … and ….as the movie unfolded with the grand opening sequence, the bike stunt and the song …. it already felt like it was worth the $ 15. It was truly a wonderful experience watching the movie. Every aspect complimented each other very well and it was a showcase of technical brilliance.

Directors like Rajamouli and Shankar are technicians dream as they set a wonderful platform to unleash their skills. Special mention must be made about the CG work. It was a very commendable effort. Rajamouli and team more than made up for the crappy Shark fight.

It is a giant step forward and given our budgets, I think what has been achieved in this film is phenomenal. I am not sure who the credit goes to for the CG work in this film (is a company or some individual? ), but sure like to see them be well highlighted in the opening credits and also in the reviews, just like editing and cinematography.

Regarding the artists performance, Ram Charan is added to my list of heroes whose movies I’ll look out for and Kajal was refreshing. though I could follow the movie pretty well, there were some scenes I wished there were sub titles …. like when Sri Hari and Ram Charan exchange dialogues, when the Aghori talks to the villan, etc ..

I think it is time that movies like this come out with subtitles to reach a broader audience …. and ... this movie may just be the ideal Telugu movie to debut on Blu ray!

P.S. – If any of you are waiting for the price to drop in subsequent weeks, especially in Detroit, I will say that you are better off watching this in the current big screen #8 with brilliant sound for a few extra bucks than the poor screen #4 or #5 that they usually shift it to.

Note: I do feel bad about how they hike the prices of such movies and drive away some movie lovers, especially families, from enjoying it on the best screen. Wish they stick to the consistent $10 like English or Hindi movies.

Vijay Ilavarasan
vijay.ilavarasan at gmail dot com