It's only fair to preface this review of Sekhar Raja's Uu Kodathara... Ulikki Padathara by saying two things: first, I watched this Telugu language film without subtitles because I was extremely excited to finally see it, and second, having seen it, this is not a film for South Indian rookies. UKUP is a crazy masala mix-up, broad comedy plays against extreme violence, hand-wringing melodrama, and colorful dance productions with little regard for flow or pacing, but that's kind of what makes a lot of Indian film special. However, this film does it so cavalierly that it's often hard to keep up, and not just because I didn't understand the dialogue(s).
Prabhu plays Rayudu, the owner of a formerly magnificent estate called Gandharva Mahal. Rayudu is a kind man who allows the local poor to gather on his land to live and have their markets for a small fee, much less than a regular landlord would charge. One day, out of nowhere, appears Manoj (Rocking Star Manoj Manchu), a long haired jack of all trades who's looking for a place to crash. When some hooligans begin to extort Rayudu under while under his roof, Manoj steps in and remedies the situation in one of the film's finest sequences, a flashback that contains all of the best bits from the trailer, and earns Rayudu's trust. From there on out, things get complicated, and I'm probably better off doing as little plot recap as possible.
Manoj falls in love with Jayadha (Deeksha Seth), one of Prabhu's daughters, who at first wants nothing to do with him, she eventually changes her mind, as all women in films do. This romance leads to Manoj becoming a legit valet of the estate, in order to impress his potential father-in-law. Then all Hell breaks loose. Following a late night row with a ghostly spirit, we are treated to a 40 minute flashback explaining some of the backstory of the estate, featuring aging Telugu film hero Balakrishna, who makes his entrance by leaping out of the water and doing a flip onto an elephant's back, which he then smashes over the head with his fists, forcing the poor pachyderm into submission. All of this to the cheers of the audience, I might add.
The flashback is long and complex, as are most of the sequences in the film, which is what ultimately causes the film to be so inappropriate for the novice viewer. There are lots of Telugu film conventions at play, often several at the same time, which will confuse newbies. For every outstandingly ridiculous and rewatchable action sequence, there are five extended dialogue sequences to drag the film down.
This is a film that would be very popular on YouTube in five minute chunks, as that seems to be about as long as Sekhar Raja is able to keep any kind of momentum going. The first flashback sequence in which Manoj recounts to his fearful wards the many ways in which he's massacred people for fun is absolutely incredible and some of the bloodiest stuff I've seen. People are hacked to pieces, chopped in half, bodies are literally piled several yards high, and Manoj hams it up very well, to the point of making his alleged maniac even likable. The other standout action sequence comes at the end, when a couple of ghosts possess Manchu Manoj and latecomer Richard Rishi as Rishi Kumar, and later Lakshmi Manchu, while they battle for dominion over the estate. However, none of this makes any sense if you've not been able to keep up all along, and even with subs, I'm sure that's a chore.
The one thing that I keep thinking about as I get further from the film is that I really hope that Manoj Manchu becomes a big star. The guy has charisma oozing from every pore and he's willing to both play the fool and the hero without losing any cool points. His character morphs frequently over the course of the film from Joe Cool to dutiful son and beyond, but he never loses focus, and this makes him the real discovery here. My main problem with him is that this was his dream project, and he even took over the editing process toward the end of post-production, so the film is what he wanted it to be, for better or for worse.
Nevertheless, I came out entertained, if a bit confused. I will admit that before the film started I looked up the plot on Wikipedia (since I knew there'd be no subs), and I did a little bit more digging to catch up during the intermission. I'm not going to deny that it helped, but it still couldn't manage to make this transcend any cultural lines, which is kind of what I was hoping for, but it succeeds at it's own goals, based on the reactions of the others in the screening with me. The intended audience ate it up, but for you who are already intimidated by the massive variety and overwhelming learning curve of Indian cinema, you can safely give UKUP a pass.
Prabhu plays Rayudu, the owner of a formerly magnificent estate called Gandharva Mahal. Rayudu is a kind man who allows the local poor to gather on his land to live and have their markets for a small fee, much less than a regular landlord would charge. One day, out of nowhere, appears Manoj (Rocking Star Manoj Manchu), a long haired jack of all trades who's looking for a place to crash. When some hooligans begin to extort Rayudu under while under his roof, Manoj steps in and remedies the situation in one of the film's finest sequences, a flashback that contains all of the best bits from the trailer, and earns Rayudu's trust. From there on out, things get complicated, and I'm probably better off doing as little plot recap as possible.
Manoj falls in love with Jayadha (Deeksha Seth), one of Prabhu's daughters, who at first wants nothing to do with him, she eventually changes her mind, as all women in films do. This romance leads to Manoj becoming a legit valet of the estate, in order to impress his potential father-in-law. Then all Hell breaks loose. Following a late night row with a ghostly spirit, we are treated to a 40 minute flashback explaining some of the backstory of the estate, featuring aging Telugu film hero Balakrishna, who makes his entrance by leaping out of the water and doing a flip onto an elephant's back, which he then smashes over the head with his fists, forcing the poor pachyderm into submission. All of this to the cheers of the audience, I might add.
The flashback is long and complex, as are most of the sequences in the film, which is what ultimately causes the film to be so inappropriate for the novice viewer. There are lots of Telugu film conventions at play, often several at the same time, which will confuse newbies. For every outstandingly ridiculous and rewatchable action sequence, there are five extended dialogue sequences to drag the film down.
This is a film that would be very popular on YouTube in five minute chunks, as that seems to be about as long as Sekhar Raja is able to keep any kind of momentum going. The first flashback sequence in which Manoj recounts to his fearful wards the many ways in which he's massacred people for fun is absolutely incredible and some of the bloodiest stuff I've seen. People are hacked to pieces, chopped in half, bodies are literally piled several yards high, and Manoj hams it up very well, to the point of making his alleged maniac even likable. The other standout action sequence comes at the end, when a couple of ghosts possess Manchu Manoj and latecomer Richard Rishi as Rishi Kumar, and later Lakshmi Manchu, while they battle for dominion over the estate. However, none of this makes any sense if you've not been able to keep up all along, and even with subs, I'm sure that's a chore.
The one thing that I keep thinking about as I get further from the film is that I really hope that Manoj Manchu becomes a big star. The guy has charisma oozing from every pore and he's willing to both play the fool and the hero without losing any cool points. His character morphs frequently over the course of the film from Joe Cool to dutiful son and beyond, but he never loses focus, and this makes him the real discovery here. My main problem with him is that this was his dream project, and he even took over the editing process toward the end of post-production, so the film is what he wanted it to be, for better or for worse.
Nevertheless, I came out entertained, if a bit confused. I will admit that before the film started I looked up the plot on Wikipedia (since I knew there'd be no subs), and I did a little bit more digging to catch up during the intermission. I'm not going to deny that it helped, but it still couldn't manage to make this transcend any cultural lines, which is kind of what I was hoping for, but it succeeds at it's own goals, based on the reactions of the others in the screening with me. The intended audience ate it up, but for you who are already intimidated by the massive variety and overwhelming learning curve of Indian cinema, you can safely give UKUP a pass.