Blu-ray Review: BRINDAVANAM
Krish, played by Tollywood legacy Jr. NTR, is a humble, yet indestructible, good-natured Telugu boy. He goes to school, he has a beautiful girlfriend, and in his spare time he saves those less fortunate, and/or less cool than himself from vengeful gangsters as seen in the opening sequence of the film. As a result of his good nature, his lovely girlfriend, Indu, recruits him for a job: Pretend to be her friend's fiance to save the girl, Bhumi, from being married off to a goon back in her rural hometown. Krish protests but ultimately relents, and doesn't realize what he's in for until he's actually on the bus to his summer home.
A few km before they reach Brindavanam, Bhumi's family estate, the bus breaks down in enemy territory and Krish is forced to fight his way out of town. He sees it as an isolated incident, does his business and gets the bus onto its destination. He doesn't realize that his lovely girlfriend has put him in the middle of a blood-feud between step-brothers. Great. The rest of the is half-action movie, and half ridiculous romantic story. Krish, through his incredible benevolence and goodwill, manages to reunite the feuding families, inadvertently win Bhumi's heart, and get himself stuck in the middle of an intractable love triangle.
While the film relies heavily on well-trod Tollywood tropes and internal logic, I still found it to be entertaining, if not quite up to the international standards of the last couple of Telugu films I've reviewed (Don Seenu, Simha). The action sequences are distinctly more filmi that in either of those two films, with even someone like me wondering why they didn't bring it down to Earth just a little. Typically, Krish does not take a punch or show any signs of wear at all during fight sequences until he decides not to fight back. This is an oft used Indian film trope, the invincible hero comes standard to most masala films, and if you're able to let go and roll with it, it can be fun seeing how Jr. NTR will dispatch his next foe, even if it is a forgone conclusion that he will.
The song and dance numbers are similarly hit and miss. Even though the vast bulk of the film takes place in rural Andhra Pradesh in India, at least one of the songs clearly takes place in Switzerland. This isn't that unusual, except that often they'll at least make up some excuse for the characters to go to Switzerland first, and THEN put in the song. Nope, this one is pure fantasy. The choreography is almost perfect from front to back, except the final song, in which NTR, who is an awesome hoofer, is forced to do some weird lame duck limping across the floor, and with every single step he takes, he looks like he's about to beef it. It looks very uncomfortable. My impression is that the choreographers are constantly trying to outdo one another with increasingly complicated moves from film to film, and the poor actors are merely victims. In my opinion, it makes a stellar dancer look like a gimp.
Brindavanam, I'm sure, works wonderfully for an audience well-versed in Telugu films, but for those outside that fandom, it will probably be a bit of a stretch. At three hours, the film is actually in line with other Indian films, but it packs far too many inside jokes to really bust out of Tollywood. I liked it, I thought it was funny and charming, the songs were catchy, and the action was explosive, however, I think I may be the exception, rather than the rule in this case.
The Disc:
Bhavani has put together yet another stellar disc for Brindavanam. Indian Blu-ray releases are a remarkably mixed bag, and even those from the higher budget, wider audience, Northern Bollywood studios often leave a lot to be desired. Bhavani is batting 1.000 with their releases though, with outstanding razor sharp video and active, clear, and punchy audio. The action sequences really will test your speakers, with punches being thrown and landed all over the sound field. If you are a fan of Indian film music, the Telugu LPCM 5.1 track is a miracle, bumping powerful bass and again using the entire sound field to create an experience that even makes me wanna dance.
Overall, I'd say this is a great presentation of a film that might take a bit of advanced knowledge to truly appreciate. Indian film fans out there, however, will want to scoop this one up!
Do you feel this content is inappropriate or infringes upon your rights? Click here to report it, or see our DMCA policy.