Anaganaga O Dheerudu(Once Upon a Warrior)
My Rating - 8/10
My Verdcit - Worth watching, especially the special effects that are awesome. Disney's first collaboration with South Indian Cinema and perhaps the best fantasy film made in India.
Anaganaga O Dheerudu features the story of a sorcerer Irendri (Lakshmi Manchu) who lives on the blood of a gypsy girl (Priya), the last in her tribe. One drop of such blood energises her and she is in a quest to become supreme. There is a parallel plot. A little girl Moksha (Harshitha) is accosted by a blind warrior Yodha (Siddharth) to save Agartala, the kingdom and it's children which is under Irendri's spell. The onus is on the warrior to save both Moksha and Priya who have been imprisoned.
The first fifteen or twenty minutes have the story moving briskly, but thereafter it is a series of episodes of either Moksha being lifted or Priya by the sorceress's men. In between you are treated to a story of how Yodha falls in love with Priya and how he is blinded by Irendri's soldier. The film is just a magnificent feast of sound and sight and one watches the plot unfold with indifference. It springs to life only when Ravi Babu appears and intensfies the conflicting point. The casting of the film is perfect but the content is devoid of emotion, you watch it move without getting involved with the proceedings. If you are left without feeling jubilant over Irendri's destruction in the finale then where is the story heading to?
Splendid costumes, make-up, graphics, settings dominate the story. Shruti Hassan isn't as beautiful as her mother Sarika but she is a lithe, lissome mannequin. The dubbing doesn't gel, isn't in sync with her lip movement but you overlook it as the lady exudes a fresh feel. One cannot comment on Lakshmi either, she has very few scenes, nothing much to do but she impresses with her walk and look. Her voice, her accentuated eyes are an asset to the film without which the film would have been a zero. Her broad forehead helps in making her look evil. It is her brief appearance which hangs on in your memory after you leave the theatre.
Siddharth lacks the look of a warrior, the fiery expression is missing but is quite good as the blind lover. The little girl Harshitha who plays Moksha is very sweet and does a convincing job, but her work is overshadowed after priya enters the scene. While one is given an impression that the feud is between Moksha and Irendri, the story suddenly tilts towards Irendri and Priya. Ravi Babu brings out the artist in him, his physique and disposition is very good.
The graphics doesn't stir your imagination, one has watched it all in the recent past. The director's fable is interesting but he couldn't devote complete attention to any of the characters. He gives into cinematic liberties by introducing Brahmanandam as Jaffa. After naming the people and cities perfectly, wonder what made him think of Jaffa. There is a dialogue by Siddharth which is directed at Shruti, he asks her, "Repu kaallu chethulu kattesi kapuram cheyyamantava"; sounds disoriented, out of place and scandalous if the film has been made with an intention of captivating the children's imagination.
Finally, Anaganaga O Dheerudu would have been better if the director had given more footage to the sorceress and named it Irendri instead, as in the rest of the story the characters simply vanish..like they say out of sight, out of mind!
Source : cinegoer.com
Comments