Brochevarevarura (Who Shall Save the Day?)

This story has the framework of an aspiring scriptwriter who is telling the story to an actress who he hopes to interest in starring in the film he's writing. The film pops in and out of this framework and it is interesting to see how the story can subtly change going forward based on the actress's questions or comments.

As it begins, three slackers (or as they are charmingly called in India - back benchers) try anything and everything to make passing marks. They meet another low performer who is a young lady and the principal's daughter. When she runs into trouble, they turn all their limited resources into helping her out.

For the first half of the movie, this was all good and well, but I kept wondering what led to all the good critical reviews and audience enthusiasm. It seemed very ordinary in many ways. However, about halfway through a plot twist popped up that left us astounded and intrigued. This made all the difference as the movie exploded into action and we were glued to the story.

I would like to rewatch this someday because there are hints in the beginning which are fulfilled by the end. I know that we missed some but the obvious ones were a real pleasure when they popped up. This was cleverly written and well acted and directed. Definitely recommended.

Bollywood* Beginner Movies 4-6 — Romance, Action, and Myth

Last week we began by looking at romantic comedies. We continue with different genres and stars — action, romance, and over-the-top mythical tales. You'll get a sample of a distinctive director, S.S. Rajamouli, whose films Telugu language movies which are called "Tollywood."

ACTION

4. Bang Bang 

Frothy cotton candy action-romance when an ordinary woman encounters an charming thief. Full of diamond heists, car chases, and (of course) lots of singing and dancing. You'll see why Hrithik Roshan is considered one of India's best dancers. (My review, Hannah and Rose discuss it here.)

• Tashan (Style)
  Ridiculously entertaining action film combining Tarantino style action (without the gore because it is Bollywood not Hollywood) with big song and dance numbers (Bollywood not Hollywood). (My review here. Hannah and Rose discuss it here.)
  

 ROMANCE

5. Lootera

In a village, a young archaeologist falls in love with a landlord’s daughter. Their union seems doomed. But destiny brings them together a year later. A straight-up romance that's full of twists, turns, and reversals. With redemption in the end. No singing and dancing but a fantastic movie. (My review here)

 ACTION
(From Tollywood)

6. RRR
(Rise Roar Revolt)

The director's dream about two Indian revolutionaries who never met but might have been besties if they had. An over-the-top bro-mance with great choreography for singing and action, exciting dances, and a lot of heart. American critics loved this one. (My review here. Scott and I discuss it here.)  

More from director S.S. Rajamouli:

• Baahubali 1 & 2
  Epic. Myth. Battles. Good. Evil. Singing. Dancing. And war elephants. About a royal family in a mythical India that's more like The Lord of the Rings or 300 than you are probably imagining. CGI in the first one isn't great, but just ignore it. (My review. Scott and I discuss them here. Hannah and Rose talk about them here.)
  
• Eega
  Totally amazing movie about a guy murdered by his rival in love ... who is reincarnated as a fly. And is still determined to take vengeance on his murderer and protect his love. By the director of Baahubali and RRR. (My review here. Hannah and Rose discuss it here.)
  

NEXT

Part 3 will feature Shakespeare, thrillers, and modern life.

For my complete list of recommended films, go here. The list begins with what I've seen most recently.

* "Bollywood" as I'm using it is shorthand for Indian movies in general. The Indian movie industry has a lot of different centers that are based on regional languages and storytelling styles. There will be a few recommendations from others as we go, however, generally speaking, Bollywood (Bombay/Mumbai) offers the easiest entry points for Western viewers.

C/o Kancharapalem

From a schoolboy’s crush to a middle-aged bachelor’s office romance, four love stories spanning age, religion and status unfold in a small Indian town.

Kancharapalem is the name of a little neighborhood, which some of the residents actually call their village, in a small Indian town. Telugu is spoken there so this is not a Bollywood film but a Tollywood film, as the Telugu-language film industry is called. This movie features four very sweet love stories which engaged us from the beginning. Interesting side note: none of the 80 people in the film are actors.

Director Venkatesh Maha recruited most of his cast, nearly 80 non-actors, who are from the town itself. While no one in the town took seriously that he was making a film, they had shown great enthusiasm to act nonetheless. — Wikipedia

And they do a great job. The critics loved this and so did we. It went on my favorite movies of 2021 list as soon as we saw it.

Hannah and Rose talk about it in episode 46 of An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast.

It is streaming on Netflix and for rent on Amazon and various other places.

Goodachari (The Spy)

Gopi, alias Arjun, is the son of an ex-RAW agent Raghuveer. Brought up by his uncle Satya, he wants to be an agent just like his father and uncle. But Satya wants him to lead a normal life and not be killed like his father was. What happens in Gopi’s life that turns everything upside down?

Goodachari is a super solid spy movie made in a very Western style with good production values. Its Indian heart showed in the hero's tearful, sentimental love for his father and country, as well as the many flashbacks along the way. It surprised us several times In very satisfying ways with plot twists. 

This is a "Tollywood" movie, meaning that it is from the Telugu-language film industry. It is clear that the director of this movie learned a lot, possibly from the Baahubali movies (the second of which is the second top grossing film of all time in India). The Baahubali movies are the ones that really sent us into the Indian film world in a big way. Those movies featured tight stories, and kept us on the edge of our seats. Goodachara, though completely different, doesn't disappoint on those points.

Here's hoping the sequel gets made soon. I'm ready to see Agent 116 save India again. Jai Hind!

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya

SHERLOCK HOLMES IS FICTION. AGENT SAI SRINIVASA ATHREYA IS ORIGINAL.

Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya is a brilliant, underrated detective from Nellore who runs an agency called FBI which sees no business. He gets more than what he asked for when a case happens to fall right into his lap out of nowhere.

Charming and delightful tale of a detective who learned everything from fictional detectives in books and movies. This gets off to a very slow start with a lot of establishing scenarios to Agent Athreya has a good detective's mind. Once he is thrown in jail the story turns into a legit twisty mystery which takes off much as a Hollywood movie would. In a way, it is a nice bookend to Knives Out in that it has a modern setting (albeit South Indian) but tells a classic noir-style tale. The star is really personable and charming. I would gladly see another of these so I'm glad to hear that a series is proposed.

Rating — for viewers with medium Indian film experience. (It's not rocket science, but without any cultural background at all you might feel kind of lost.)

Eega (Fly)

Totally amazing movie about a guy murdered by his rival in love ... who is reincarnated as a fly. And is still determined to take vengeance on his murderer and protect his love. No wonder this director got funding for the first Baahubali. Everyone had seen this heartwarming, thrilling story of the little fly that could.

We were particularly impressed (as was everyone else who saw this, from the reviews we read) by Sudeep's performance as the deadly villain. It is not everyone who can essentially carry a movie while acting with a fly, and a CGI fly at that. He was completely convincing.

This really must be seen to be believed. Originating in a joke between the director and his main screenwriter (his hardworking father), this movie delivers in a way that continually surprised us, bouncing between humor, danger, thrills, and just a little horror. It is delivered in an efficient two hours, including two dance numbers and a musical training montage.

This is available on Netflix. You may wind up finding it as Makkhi (Hindi for fly) since this southern Indian film has been translated from the original Telugu-Tamil language film into Hindi (with English captions, thank goodness).

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

An American's Guide to Bollywood discusses Eega.

Baahubali

We are always interested in Indian/Bollywood movies, especially after liking Lagaan so much. However, when we've tried the real thing we've often had a really hard time understanding them.

So we were interested but wary when we got a recommendation from a computer guy in India that my husband's been working with. He first mentioned Slumdog Millionaire which was interesting because we like it but never really knew how accurately that conveyed a feel for India. Then he recommended Baahubali. Amazingly enough, the Dallas library had copies of parts 1 & 2, making for 5 hours of movie goodness.

BAAHUBALI: THE BEGINNING

(2015)

The young Shivudu is left as a foundling in a small village by his mother. By the time he’s grown up, it has become apparent that he possesses exceptional gifts. He meets the beautiful warrior/princess Avanthika and learns that her queen has been held captive for the last 25 years. Shividu sets off to rescue her, discovering his own origins in the process.

We had absolutely no idea what to expect but was an exciting movie. It had many familiar story elements: the young man seeking his place in the world (and romance), finding a new path (and romance), and learning about his unexpected history (and romance). Along with epic battle scenes. And some singing. (That much of the culture we knew to expect.)

Interestingly, this echoed the main themes of The Last Jedi, which we had seen at the theater that day. Some themes are common to us all, despite the cultural differences.

Note: The CGI in this is painfully obvious. We weren't sure if that was due to the quality of the original or the transfer to DVD. Whatever. Just ignore it and keep watching. It's worth it.

BAAHUBALI 2: THE CONCLUSION

(2017)

It's as if they cut a long movie in half and this is literally the second part. 'Nuff said. If you watched the first, you're good to go on this one. Here was my husband's reaction.

Epic. And he tied all 5 hours together. Myth. Battles. Good. Evil. Singing. Dancing. And war elephants.

I loved this beyond all reason ... it was Shakespearean in the family complications by the end. And it had enough crazy amazing action for anyone who is a fan of superhero movies.

Also, you could tell the budget was bigger. The CGI was much improved.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!) This one depends more on whether you can handle long-ago historical/fantasy movies than Indian films. Are you a Lord of the Rings fan? Did you like 300? You'll probably do just fine.

Scott and I discuss Baahubali 1 & 2 at A Good Story is Hard to Find.
An American's Guide to Bollywood discuss Baahubali 1 & 2 here.