Nenunnanu(2004)

The pace of this film is agonizingly slow. I'm not sure of the running time, but it certainly feels as if it's as long as Gone With the Wind. I wish the director had trimmed 2 or 3 songs, some of the fights and comedy, and all of the inconsequential scenes. Repeat viewings are more enjoyable when you don't have to fast-forward past a bunch of crap that only bogs down an otherwise entertaining bit of sentimental fluff.

The plot: Venu(Nagarjuna), a port contractor and an orphan since childhood, takes in Anu(Shriya Saran), a clasical music singer after she is abandonned by both her family and Arun(Subbaraju), the guy she tried to elope with. Venu protects Anu from the goons JP, Arun's father, hired to kill her. Unexpressed love blossoms. Fights, fights, and more fights ensue. Near-tragedy strikes. Oh, and there's the added angle of Anu's best friend, Sruthi(Aarti Agarwal), who also loves Venu.

Favorite scenes:

• Venu using the flat side of a hot iron to make dosas for Anu. Seeing that reminded me of a scene from an HBO special about Riker's Island where a couple of female inmates demonstrated how they made grilled cheese sandwiches using a paper bag and a hot iron.


• Venu saying to Anu, "If death were the only solution to problems, do you know how many times I would've died by now?" shortly after her failed suicide attempt.


• Venu asking Anu not to leave when he sees her packing a bag and she tells him she's only gathering clothes that need to be washed.


• Anu throwing a suprise birthday celebration for Venu and giving him his birth certificate as a present.


• Venu kicking open the door at the exact moment Anu calls him on a cell phone, and bashing up the rowdies who were harrassing her.


• Venu beating up JP's men while Anu participates in a singing competition.


• Venu rushing to Anu's hospital bed and telling her, "You must live. You must live for me. I'll become an orphan again if you die."

Best songs(IMO, of course): "E Shwasalo" and "Nee Kosam"

Why I don't regret buying this, even though I had to put up with a lot of extraneous shit: I really enjoyed watching the three leads. Shriya looked like a dream in those saris, Aarti was cute, "gas cylinder" frame and all, and I've developed a soft spot for Nagarjuna.

Nuvvu Naaku Nachav(2001)

Why does Prakash Raj look like FILF material in this movie? How can I derive any satisfaction from my "hai, it's Prakash Raj, again" sightings if I'm torn between wanting to do him and wishing that he were my daddy? I'm ashamed to admit that I found it difficult to concentrate on the rest of the film because I was too busy drooling over him. Damn you and your unexpected hotness, Prakash Raj!

The movie itself was okay. I had zero expectations, so I wasn't disappointed, just a bit underwhelmed. It was slow to start, and dragged in places, and I thought Venkatesh appeared more like Aarti's older brother than her love interest. But he was likeable, and I think he has a charming screen presence. Aarti--the sole reason I bought this flick--looked good, especially in the "Vunna Maata Cheppalevu", "Okkasari Cheppaleva", and "Naa Chupe Ninu" songs.

Just for a change of pace, I would like to see a movie where the soon-to-be-wed heroine doesn't develop feelings for the wastrel-with-a-heart-of-gold hero. Instead, his attraction remains one-sided and at the end, he's left to wallow in the pain of his unrequited love while she marries the intended groom. That type of ending might not go over too well with some audiences, but for me, it would be totally relatable, if a tad depressing. I have a feeling that such a film exists**, but I've yet to stumble upon it.


**Mungaru Male comes close, but again, I'm thinking more along the lines of, "He's in love. She's indifferent. Cordial, but distant. He realizes he'll never the scale the wall she's put up, so he suffers silently", blah blah blah.

Bobby(2002)

One-armed Prakash Raj is love. I like to rag on him for being in every third movie I own or have watched, but seeing him in Bobby, with only one arm, I felt for him. Rationally, I know that his other arm was strapped behind his back and not really missing, but still, it was touching, and kind of funny as it reminded me of the "one-armed solider" dance this kid in my high school German class did. Anyway...

Mahesh Babu and Aarti Agarwal are Romeo and Juliet-type lovers whose fathers(played by Raghuvaran and Prakash Raj, respectively) are bitter enemies. Unfortunately, they don't remain enemies. And just as unfortunate, not everyone dies in the end. I hate seemingly tragic love stories that end on a happy note(not unless I'm misunderstanding and Mahesh and Aarti's marriage just before the closing credits was really a "dream-before-dying" scenario, but I don't think so). I firmly believe that star-crossed lovers should not survive, simply because I'm fatalistic like that. (Or would "morbid" would be a better word?)

Mahesh did a good job in the acting department, although I wish his character would've gotten laid already so that he would shut up about "committing the sin". Aarti looked lovely and appeared to have good chemistry with Mahesh. One of my favorite scenes is the one where she tips him 100 rupees for (accidentally) rolling out a red carpet for her, and the back and forth banter between them that follows. I also liked the scene where she and Mahesh are sitting on top of a bus, in the rain, smoking, and she suddenly puts out her cigarette, saying that she no longer feels the urge to smoke out of boredom now that she has him, and they lean in for a kiss that leads to the "Vaa Vaa" song.

This movie appeals to the fifteen year-old in me who believes in the made-for-TV version of love and romance. It has a little Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet(the fish tank scene), a little Showgirls(the french fry scene), a little Spice Girls' "Wannabe" video(during the "Pullani Pullattu" song when Aarti Agarwal is dancing on the stairs with four other girls), and a song("Lokam") whose beat is ripped off from Jennifer Lopez's "Love Don't Cost A Thing". The picturisation of said song makes me feel as if I'm on drugs, which isn't a bad thing. It was certainly different, kinda cool, and kinda "Where have I seen this before?" I'm sure it was "inspired by" another artist's music video, but I can't think of who. Moving along...

My only quibbles are that the movie tends to drag in places, and the comedy bits with Brahmanandam and Sunil, while brief compared to the amount of screen time they normally get, could've, should've been left out. But otherwise, the $5.99 I paid for this DVD was well spent. I had zero expectations and wound up pleasantly suprised, which is always a good thing.