ARUNDHATHI

Presentation

It is one of the few Telugu films that made me blissful throughout, while watching. Its story is binding, truly. Its narration is fantastic. Its music is divine. Its songs are inspiring. Its dialogues are delightfully comprehensible. Its main lead is gorgeous and challenging, in appearance and performance. Its visual effects are marvelous. Its success rate at theaters is historical. It is one of the great wonders I ever witnessed with my eyes and ears. It is a wholesome entertainment to my heart. It thrilled my soul. It is basically a story of two human souls and their mutual struggle to retaliate against each other for the convincible reasons.

Disorderly Sketch of Story

Arundhathi’s marriage is due to take place in a short time. Their elders are making arrangements. It is a blissful occasion in their family. Slowly Arundhathi comes to know that something wrong is going on somewhere. One of her relatives disappears. Another relative becomes mad. The center of the tragedy is located at an imaginary abode in a familiar palace (Gadwal, a small town in Andhra Pradesh) to her, a region associated with a royal family decades ago during the British rule in India. Arundhathi learns the tragic history of Jejamma, her great grandmother 80 years ago. Jejamma died on her own to retaliate against her maternal uncle, who spoilt the life of her sister and many other women in that town, whom she buried alive for some reasons. He turns out a horrific ghost and waits to exploit Jejamma, whenever she takes another birth with that soul. Arundhathi is the reincarnation of Jejamma in the same royal family now. One of the Agoras, those that live depending on human dead bodies and such other activities centered on black magic, when considered from the scientific perspective, prepared a weapon with the bone of Jejamma, after her death and cremation, years ago. Only the soul of Jejamma can kill the horrific ghost of her maternal uncle, which is existent in the form of a soul with terrific powers of black magic, even to this date. Arundhathi slowly realizes that she was Jejamma years ago in that royal family. With the help of an Islamic black magician, she understands the power of the ghost that came out and eventually kills it in the final battle. The dilapidated royal palace collapses with the death of the ghost of her maternal uncle, who waited for 80 years to retaliate against Arundhathi, a beauty, once whom he liked and wanted to exploit. Many mysterious and terrific events take place in the process of Arundhathi realizing her past and retaliating against her maternal uncle. She gets ready to marry her scheduled fiancé in this birth after defeating the ghost of her maternal uncle. This is the story of the film in brevity. You would have more clarity when you see it in theater.

Crew of Excellence

Producer-Shyam Prasad Reddy

He is the son of Mallemala (M S Reddy), a noted film producer and lyricist of the recent past. He is known for producing satisfactory films going for any number of days of shooting and investment in the process. He wants quality in the film. Earlier he spent four years to finalize the famous Telugu film “Anji” of Chiranjeevi. If this film turned this much successful, God must be thanked. Syam Prasad Reddy deserves such right kind of profits for the commitment and involvement he invested for the films he produced so far. If a producer of taste has more money, more classics emerge in film industry. I am happy that viewers gave a little of their money to this great producer in the Telugu film industry. This time he spent two years’ time to finalize this film. May God bless him for his patience and taste to produce a good film always, not minding whether it turns successful or not at box office. How many can think and invest money in films like him today?

Director- Kodi Rama Krishna

He has been a noted Telugu film director for years. He challenged the Telugu audience again with this miraculous piece of Telugu film industry. If one has to understand the worth of this gentleman, one must see films he directed so far. To understand an artist, one must personally taste related art pieces. No much use in appreciating or criticizing one without checking one’s tangible proofs.

Visual Effects and Creative Director- Rahul Nambiar

If this film turned a big hit at theaters, part of the credit goes to this young man from Kerala. I don’t know much about his past track record as a wonder in visual effects but heard that he is a gem in his field. If you want to appreciate this gentleman, you must see this film first. Graphical effects arrest your attention throughout the film. Nambiar turned a hero in the circle of film technicians with the huge success of this film and his great contribution for it. I must say he is one of the gems just launching himself into the dreamy island of Indian cinema.

Music-Koti

Koti is a prominent music director in the Telugu film industry. Earlier he worked as part of duo Raj-Koti. Now he is doing films alone. I give 90 marks for music in this film. It makes you mad in the positive sense. It grips your heart and soul as long as you are seeing the film in theater. We can’t imagine this classic piece without its music. It is the soul of this film. Koti rocked the Telugu audience with his sensational music in this film at a time when many are starting forgetting his name in comparison to other leading young musicians like Devisri Prasad.

Story

This story was prepared and polished by Mallemala Unit, an outfit partly or fully associated with the family or friends or well-wishers of the producer Syam Prasad Reddy.

Anushka Shetty

She is the one and only rocking beauty on silver screen in the Telugu film industry today. Her beauty mesmerizes any sensible living male creature in seconds. What happens if such a challenging beauty performs commendably for a masterpiece? The result is madness. Yes. One goes mad with love and appreciation for this exceptional beauty after watching her bewitching beauty and extraordinary performance in this film. I am giving 98 marks for her beauty and performance in this film. Half of the vitality of this film is undoubtedly this charming and challenging damsel only. She made me sit like a four-year old innocent kid in the theater anxiously waiting to see what happens to her next in the film. She captured my attention and admiration for her throughout the film. See the film to estimate the luck she got to act in such a masterpiece of films.

Other Characters

Though everybody acted considerably well in this film, you don’t remember them much after coming out from the theater. The story, the screenplay (narration of the story in a sequential order as desired by the director and the creative team of the film), the music, the songs, the heroine and the villain are the soul of this film. Rest is complementary meant to run the film ahead.

Special Note

People that never like to see a movie in theater, for various reasons, which looks acceptable from their standpoints, started coming to theaters after the success talk of this film. It created waves in the Telugu film industry. I witnessed the power of those winds and waves like others. It is really a classic piece in the recent times. Then, as to the rationality or scientifically acceptable qualities of this film, I am least bothered. If science can answer 50 percent of our rational and right questions; spiritualism, black magic, the concept of life after death, karma, soul and such other related things revolving around the theme of “mysterious human imaginations” can answer 200 percent of our questions arising from other quarters, which science can’t address even a bit. So, I never expect a film or any other art piece to be scientifically acceptable to educate or entertain people. Why should we go to see a film or read a book if our only goal in life is to reach God and attain salvation? Reading only Bhagavad Gita is enough for that for us Hindus and other scriptures for other people of faiths. We do other things also a little to taste different facets of entertainment, which God made possible through the thoughts and imaginations of man, His beloved son.

Conclusion

I often feel like collecting a few pieces of music and keep them with me to get inspired listening to them when I am writing a masterpiece in some genre of literature. I have a rough estimate of about 2000 songs in different Telugu films that elevate me to my desired state of mood and expression while I am listening to them. This film also got such songs and music in it. I would add these songs also in my collection in future whenever I think myself “Fellow! You are attempting to create a masterpiece. Keep that music on and shut the doors and windows all around”. My hearty congratulations to Koti for producing such gripping music for this film. I often think, can writers or other kinds of artists ever excel in their chosen fields if they are not blest by one component “extraordinary music as they feel and want it as per their needs and tastes at different times of their outpouring or creative excellence?” I am one of the deepest lovers of great music, whoever creates it and wherever it originates.

If you did not see this film in a classic theater, even for once, you are 100% unfortunate. If you saw this film only once in a great theater, you are 20% lucky. If you saw this film 10 times in a theater, you are 50% lucky.

If you reached your heartfelt greetings to the technical and creative team of this wonderful film, in some way you are familiar with or can afford, you are 100% lucky because artists and technicians need great amount of encouragement and inspiration from their stakeholders, you and I, that see films to entertain or educate ourselves to some extent. My way of reaching my compliments to this great team is writing and posting this blog here just after an hour after seeing the film because this film commanded me to write a little about it immediately. My conscience ordered me, “Idiot! Do it now! I hate procrastination. That film maddened you with its classic appeal. Don’t you do your part to reach your message of happiness to all?”

I saw this Telugu film from 2:15 PM to 4:30 PM in theater Sudarshan 35 MM at RTC Cross Roads in Hyderabad, buying the 50-rupee ticket like a king without standing in the queue. I felt after buying the ticket, “I achieved it”. After seeing the film, I felt “I could get an entertainment worth 1000 rupees, spending 50 rupees only. It seems it is a little bearable living in India if there are such films in India”.

I request my blog readers on this occasion, “Please do not see films buying piracy pieces or downloading them immorally from your computer systems, when sent by your indecent and unethical friends in ways you know well”. Artists and technicians also live spending money. They want money to live and produce great pieces of art for us in future also. The only way for us to encourage them directly is to go to theaters and see a film when it is released instead of asking our indecent friends to send that pirated piece. Let’s not make India a nation of beggars and cheaters who enjoy things or persons in the well-known indecent ways. India means piracy and hypocrisy. Do we like this stamp from outsiders?

I like to see this film again. I enjoyed it. You too would enjoy it. Always try to see something in its original form. It may be produced in other languages also soon but you need to see the Telugu film to appreciate our folks a little. I mean Telugu speaking chaps. I love my mother tongue and people speaking it a little more than others no?

Datla Chiranjeevi Raju

7:35 PM IST

20 February 2009