Last time we saw Mahesh Babu on the silver screen, he was busy sending goons in the air, and mouthing a lot of one-liners throughout the film Srimanthudu. In Srikanth Addala's Brahmotsavam, it is all mellowed down. There is heroism, but it is of a different kind. One thing the directors of Tamil and Telugu film industries excel at is the innovative methods they come up with to introduce their heroes. When Mahesh Babu shows up on the screen, rather than a heavy BGM, a pepped-up version Madhurashtakam plays, and the hero is seen wearing a white blazer. This one shot is enough to see through the character. He is handsome; he is a charmer, and most of all, he is pious. He is someone like Aman Mathur of Kal Ho Naa Ho, but here the hero is not dying, but full of life instead. Actually, everything in Brahmotsavam is full of life, but the audience in the movie hall is sombre. Much of it is due to the brittle screenplay and writing.
Brahmotsavam follows the story of a family (a big one) headed by Mahesh Babu's father Sathyaraj. The family head runs a massive paint industry along with his brother-in-law (Rao Ramesh) and his four brothers. Rao Ramesh is jealous of Sathyaraj and thinks he steals all the credit. But the only thing that makes him stick with the family is the dream of marrying his daughter (Pranitha Subhash) to Mahesh Babu. But his dream is broken when he sees Mahesh kissing Kajal Aggarwal, a family friend's daughter. He prises himself from the family, which breaks the heart of Sathya Raj; literally. The film thereafter is about Mahesh Babu's reconciliation with his father's death and bringing the family back together.
The story is so yesterday, yet the treatment is decent and pleasant. But only till the interval. The romance between Kajal Aggarwal and Mahesh, which occupies most of the first half, is mature and driven by lust. It ends quickly because Kajal is commitment-phobic; the big family is not her thing. A sexist might call her 'not family material'. But you get a lot of detailing about her character. These blocks make the first half bearable.
Post interval, blunders keep happening. Out of nowhere shows up Samantha Ruth Prabhu (the same fatal error happened in Allu Arjun's Sarrainodu too) and swoons over the saddened family. She is everything that Kajal Aggarwal is not. She loves Mahesh Babu's family tree. She becomes the medicine for the wounded hero, and they go on tracing Mahesh's extended family across the nation.
If Srikanth had chosen to stick with the genre 'family drama', the fate of Brahmotsavam would have been fine. But he chose to tread a feel-good road trip which has resulted in an absolutely chaotic screenplay. Everything looks pretentious, contrived and out of place in the second half. The other blasphemy of the director is the placement of the not-so-good songs by Mickey J Meyer.
With a brilliant and ensemble cast consisting of veteran actors like Sathyaraj, Revathi, and Jayasudha, Addala could have pulled off a decent family entertainer. But in an attempt to make Brahmotsavam something which it is not, the director has squandered its potential.
Arundhati (Anushka) belongs to Gadwal samsthanam in 1920’s. She is known for her bravery in saving the Samstanam by killing Pasupathi (Sonu Sood) an evildoer who creates ruckus in that place. She is praised as Jejemma (named after the famous Goddess in that area). But the spirit of Pasupathi haunts that place. Another girl is born in the same lineage after 3 generations and she is named as Arundhati. The spirit of Pasupati is after Arundhati to take the revenge. The rest of the story is all about how Arundhati puts an end to the evil spirit of Pasupathi.
Anushka: This is Anushka’s first performance oriented film and she is simply amazing in two roles. There are many shots in the film where the scenes from the present time will dissolve into to flashback and vice versa. These scenes are done on Anushka are crucial in the film. She has to show the variations between the old Arundhati and new Arundhati. She did exceptionally well with subtle yet impact creating performance. Shilpa and Sowmya dubbed the voices of old and new characters respectively.
Story - screenplay - direction: Story of the film is good. Screenplay is very good. The beauty of this screenplay is about revealing the story and information in parts. There is always something to look forward to with anticipation in the film. It possesses one of the best screenplays in the recent times. Direction by Kodi Rama Krishna is very good. However, there are a couple of violent scenes that are disturbing to the family crowds. You can see a few Hollywood inspirations like Lord of the Rings, House of Flying Daggers (drum dance), Final Destination 1 (car - train episode). A couple of episodes (the thread of drum dance by the guru & establishing Arundhati as the warrior) should have been more effectively established.
Other departments: Visual effects and graphics done by Rahul Nambiar are extraordinary. Cinematography by Senthil Kumar is excellent. Background music and rerecording by Koti is brilliant. The songs in the film go with the flow of narration. Art direction by Ashok is first-rate. Make-up work is good. Editing is smooth. Digital Ingredient (color grading) is very good. Production values of this film are extravagant.
Analysis: First half of the film is excellent and the second half is good. The plus points of the film are performances, screenplay, technical values and grandeur. The only negative point I see in this film is violence (got an A certificate from censors), which is very much required for the film to be effective. After a long time, I watched a Telugu film that has both content and technology rightly mixed to give a vibrant output. Arundhati is a film which you can proudly show it as a Telugu film to all your non-Telugu friends. And it will live up to the adjective of ‘Magnum Opus’. Two thumbs up to Shyam Prasad Reddy for making a brilliant film. Don’t watch it on internet or pirated DVDs. Arundhati is a film that must be watched in a good theater with nice sound/projection system.
