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I wonder if I could write an obituary instead of a review on a movie blog. If it’s indeed permitted, then please be assured that I’m writing this essay sitting on the banks of Vaitarani river, contemplating if I had committed any sins, hours before I found myself there. It turns out that, I survived after having seen a film named ‘Param Veera Chakra’ (PVC) – which also happens to be veteran director, Dasari Narayana Rao’s 150th film. A milestone, indeed!
There’s something inherently wrong when you walk out of a film midway, spend 30 mins munching popcorn and catch up with friends and finally walk back into the hall to find that you haven’t missed a thing! I kid you not, Param Veera Chakra is a film which takes itself so seriously that it leaves the fourth wall indifferent about the progression of characters. That’s a dangerous thing and in my honest opinion, this aspect makes or breaks a film. A film maybe bad for several reasons but to undermine the intelligence of its viewers especially with its lackadaisical appraoch is a crime. Period.
We have, Balakrishna in a dual role. One is a popular film actor, Chakradhar who gets into the shoes of the characters he portrays so much that it’s almost endearing. The other is Major Jayasimha, a brave general who’s battling against terrorists on the border. One day, a group of army men meet Chakradhar to narrate a story which leads him to come face to face with his look alike, Major Jayasimha. It turns out that this Major, who’s a sincere guy, has been stamped as a ‘DeshDrohi’ and some of his close associates (Murali Mohan) want to prove that he’s infact a good person. How Chakradhar solves this problem forms the crux of the story.
You can’t help but sympathize and empathize with Balakrishna for having chosen this film soon after the stupendous success of Simha. Both his roles as Chakradhar & Major Jayasimha have ample scope to prove that he’s indeed the ‘Natasimha’, a title which his fans have bequeathed to him.Needless to say, he puts his heart and soul into each of his scenes and his sincerity shows – be it in the characters he portrays as Ravana or Komaram Bheem in his capacity as a film actor. Even as Major Jayasimha, he has ample lines of great ferocity to spell out. Yet, in an ironic twist of tale, they fail to hold your attention. Why? Because the film belongs to an age where your blood would boil at the mere mention of terrorists from Pakistan. The last time something like this happened was almost a decade ago. Perhaps, the film is trapped there and refuses to wake up to the new dawn.
The central theme of the film – patriotism to one’s land, has been a tried and tested formula. Part of the reason why director’s don’t fiddle with the concept anymore is because of the unidimensional approach one ends up taking. Try visualizing a story of an army guy who cannot tolerate injustice and fights the corruption he sees all around him and tell me it doesn’t remind you of scores of films from 70s, 80s and early 90s! Sad part is, this film PVC walks the same path even today. Wonder if they realized that people have experimented with this genre so much that all you find is craters instead of solid ground. Calling something ‘powerful’ would usually mean that you expect it to be engrossing and full of life, atleast. Instead, PVC lacks the strength of your average PVC pipes found in your backyard.
Where does it fall apart? It’s difficult to point out. Really. What part of the film came close to what they promised? The first half which some people have described to be quite interesting has its moments, but most of the scenes are disjointed with the main theme of the film. Chakradhar acts in several filmy roles which is a mere excuse to showcase his acting skills. What objective was the director trying to achieve? We wouldn’t know. Some of the dialogues have on-your-face political subtext and others to appease people from a certain region and profession. Fair enough…but why waste a sweet 30 minutes on something which doesn’t fit into the jigsaw puzzle? The second half of the film is YET another excuse to drag the film which is already a dead meat. Bombs blow up, blood is spilled, terrorists are killed, some dialogues which crave for your attention and it’s a happy ending. Viola! The objective has been achieved.
Sheela, who has a crush on Chakradhar, hardly has any footage apart from couple of eye-candy songs. Another heroine, Amisha Patel looks lost. She doesn’t even twitch a muscle on her face apart from batting her eyelashes! For a character, which requires her to either be superstrong or atleast expressive, she underplays to a disturbing extent. And Neha Dhupia….
Murali Mohan, Vijayakumar and the villains hand around and ham it up as per the whims and wishes of the director. And the so called ‘comedy’, a spoof of ‘Endhiran’ involving Ali, Hema and Brahmanandam is insipid and ridiculous. The filler scenes of which this comedy occupies a major part are worse speedbreakers contributing more to the abrupt jump cuts.
For someone who has 150 films to his credit as a director needs no advice from kids like me. We know that you have made great films and stil revel in the glory of the bygone era. Maybe observing the mindset of 20something wouldn’t be too much to ask for. The generation gap would never allow us to appreciate your ‘creativity’ – We have our Nolans, Finchers, Aronofskys, Kashyaps and Bharadwajs. But what hurts me most is people talking about your films dating back to early 80s when you have made more than 30 films since then. Is it too much to ask for, from you, to not unleash your wisdom to mortals like us?
Param Veera Chakra is a tiresome film which treads on a dangerous ground. Little do we realize that we had stepped on a landmine when you buy that ticket to watch a film whose posters look like those of G I Joe with a Bazooka! If your temple starts hurting in the end it’s because of the death of millions of neurons. Can someone recommend me for a Param Veera Chakra? I want that medal, perhaps it would have some life and pride in it. It’s namesake clearly doesn’t, as far as I can see.
Ahh…look, a messenger has arrived from Yamaloka. Looks like, I am being sent back to Earth to serve mankind. Unfortunately, most of them love to disagree with me. Now, isn’t that ironic? 
P.S: – After the first half, I did walk out for 30 minutes and by the time I came back, the part where Neha Dhupia appears was finished. Apparently, her role is the only paisa-vasool part of the film which I missed. #Facepalm #FML. And NO, I am not watching this film just to see that part again.
By,
Hemanth
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Brilliante!
We were all sure of the movie, when the deadly combo of Balayya & Dasari was announced!
Hemanth, How could you go to the movie expecting something?
What appealed to me most was the part where you called the film-makers to action, to live in the present and not indulge in scripts which is rightly today’s Tollywood cliche, if you will. This essay/review circumvents PVC, but I guess Tollywood really needs to come out of slumber and look beyond *formula films*.
A friend once remarked, its almost like they (financers) found a formula to make 4 Rs out of 2 Rs., and lage pade hain. Most of the top actors do cinema with no script to have a firm footing on! Predictable stories, actress presence (only), song-dance sequences, Sumo bomb blasts, action scenes and Bramhi getting slapped on his head by the hero. The problem is the formula itself. If you make movies with conviction, there will be takers. Find talented script-writers, take a risk! Everything else falls into line too. If the film-maker really cares about good cinema, they would not care as much about branding (read big-league actors). The cost goes down too, don’t they see?!! Happy Days, Prasthanam anyone?
If there is any creativity surge, it genuinely is with humour elements. We sure have a come a long way, so to say – too many examples to name. But how about other departments?! Just look around, bound by *culture* there are other regional movies with profound subjects, intelligent treatment and catering much more. Too much masala has led to acidity, need something as prisitine as milk now. Good one, overall.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Hemanth Kumar C R and others. Hemanth Kumar C R said: [Telugu Film Essay] Param Veera Chakra – In Memory of those who saw this junk..There’s something inherently wrong… http://fb.me/SQzVDM70 [...]
“posters look like those of G I Joe with a Bazooka!” Awsome stuff man!! keep going..it takes guts to talk out your mind in the industry..proud of u n all d best!
“G I Joe with a Bazooka” – Epic!
@Sandeep:
Though I largely agree with you, I think branding, as you put it, is still (sadly) a vital factor for our movies to succeed. You mention Happy Days and Prasthanam. Happy Days arrived with a lot of hype, good music, and importantly was the only big release at its time. Prasthanam, which I believe was the best movie of 2010, did not do really well at the box-office inspite of a very good word of mouth. When a strictly average movie like Kick can be a success, and a terrific movie like Prasthanam does not do well, we know where the problem lies. The fault also lies with the audience for not accepting all kinds of movies.
Might seem a little out of context, but I’d draw an analogy with Apple. They do not make phenomenal hardware/software. They just package/market what they have like no one else does. And you still find millions of people buying Apple products, never mind even if there are far superior products around for a much cheaper price. Same applies to our movies. Our audience needs to be more aware.
One of the best film essays I have read…
Pradyut,
Thanks for seeing through my viewpoint overall. Just to clarify, I wasn’t ostracizing cinema branding or meaning to undermine its value proposition. Promotions and word-of-mouth are bigger than ever today, no questioning absolutely! But when a movie’s USP is the actor himself, sure enough you attract crowds, and we see how this whole money-recovery cycle works even with a bad script at hand. But where is the innovation that brings on the next wave? It begins with a good script and better screenplay without so much stating of the obvious. I’ll use your example of Apple – sure the products seem like everyone else is doing it too. But they remain the real pioneers – iPod, iPhone, MacBook, iPad, etc. Each time they roll something out, the advertising is huge, and product matches up both in terms of innovation and quality – right from look and feel to functionality. But you must observe they are the first to deliver to market, and at an affordable price. Value for money coupled with value for many..what a terrific combo!
I agree with you the audiences need to be aware what’s OK, good or better. Some of us do, and thankfully are having this discussion but it needs to stretch beyond, and reach out to those who can make it happen! I reckon that film-makers think that audiences are interested in certain type of cinema only, a thought much in line with essay above.
It’s really not about what cinema should be about; art cannot be constrained by subject. Film-makers create cinema for many reasons – entertainment, ego-massaging, to turn a profit, creative satisfaction. Potentially all these goals could be confused with each other/lost very easily depending on who’s calling the shots in the process. But the makers must realize that the audience watches cinema to get entertained mainly! Any which case, it’s difficult to strike a chord with every single section of the audience, cinema is like that. I’m trying to represent and speak to that section of the audience which is enthu about good Telugu cinema, much more intelligent cinema, which appeals in a more cerebral manner. Tollywood cinema has come to be recognized by the ‘masala’ factor, and potentially losing out on audience which is disgruntled by same dimwit content being churned out shamelessly, year after another albeit a few exceptions. So I guess its upto the financiers to think intelligently and actually evaluate some more options available. It’s not so much about winning awards or Oscars anymore as much it is about regaining lost respect.
@Sandeep
Totally agree with the points you make.
And to further add to the Apple analogy, it will probably create more impact if the bigwigs of the industry take an active interest in experimenting and getting out of the rut they are in, i.e, start getting innovative. Whether we like it or not, the audience is more likely to watch an established actor/director’s movie than a lesser known actor/director’s movie.
Word of mouth is what the smaller movies survive on, but by the time a sizeable audience gets to know about the movie, the movie is out of the theatres. (Eg, Prasthanam. Allu Sirish tweeted that had Gita Arts exhibited the movie, Prasthanam would have been made more visible through better publicity/marketing.)
I think a Hollywood like studio system would work in Tollywood. Because, unfortunately just making a good cinema is no longer the criteria today. It is about in-your-face marketing campaigns, it is about how big the release is, it is about which known face is behind the project. Classic case of Socialism v/s Capitalism.
Like you say, hope the financiers and producers realise this ASAP.
encouraging or discouraging i’m sure you are not one mother and one father blood…..
Director D gaaru always critcise the young directors “Why these people are taking almost 2 yrs for completing a film” ANd finally on Audio launch of PVC he has declared that he has completed the PVC in 74 days…..And finally the result is out and he would have understood how difficult it is to satisfy the present taste of the audience and we are not in typical 80s to watch a film …..One thing is clear that Young directors are not sleeping and they are working for it to the best out come……D Gaaaariki ippudu artham i untundhi……..Dont comment the people who are working hard to direct a good picture rather completing a Big flopbuster in 74 days……
//There’s something inherently wrong when you walk out of a film midway, spend 30 mins munching popcorn and catch up with friends and finally walk back into the hall to find that you haven’t missed a thing!//
felt d same bro!! Infact i felt happy for missing that part.. and felt very much bad as my 1200 bucks got wasted for such an idiotic junk..
I am glad that there are some sane voices coming out about the type of movies churned out from the Telugu film industry. It has been long overdue. Read any telugu website, no one gives unbiased reviews. Almost every movie which has a big star or their off spring gets a 3 out of 5, no matter how bad they are. How pathetic! I think the audience have grown out of ‘over the top dialogues’ and the ‘over acting’ of these so called ‘heroes’.
Here’s something I wrote few days ago…
http://idlidosa.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/a-good-telugu-movie-is-there-such-a-thing/
Idlidosa
here is my take on PVC in telugu
http://oohalalokamlo.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/%E0%B0%AA%E0%B0%B0%E0%B0%AE-%E0%B0%B5%E0%B1%80%E0%B0%B0/
You guys are so serious about this…Lol just watch the movie….guys.
Had fun reading this….though…The Bulkayya…
There is nothing about this movie to watch or review (writing an eassy etc etc).. I would like to suggest couple of good movies … worth or watching
Well Done Abba
Benny and Babloo
Phas gaya re Obama
Band Baasa and Bharat
korikavu ley kaaja.aa perulu asalu vinaley..pvc is perfct fr u
Damn good article. Would like to share the sms that is making rounds:
PVC 1st week Collections:
APOLLO = 85 lacs
KIMS = 40 lacs
SVIMS = 70 lacs
NIMS = 1.5 Cr and finally
RAJEEV AAROGYASREE = 3.5 Cr
great review boss i thought your review was more entertaining than the film . Thank god there is still some sanity left in our reviewers !!!