2013 released Telegu movie, “Masala”, is directed by Vijay Bhaskar. It is a remake of “BolBachchan’ which was a Bollywood film, and is of the comedy/ action entertainer genre. The movie’s cast includes Venkatesh as Balaram, Ram as Rehman, Anjali as Sania, ShazahnPadamsee as Meenakshi among the others.
Plot of Masala :
Rehman and his sister, Sania, who live in Hyderabad, lose their ancestral property after their defeat in a civil case. M. S. Narayana, who is a family friend and well-wisher of the siblings, advices the two, and convinces them to shift to his place at Bheemarajavaram. There, Rehman manages to get a job under Narayana’s boss, Balaram, who is a powerful yet kind-hearted man. Rehman, at one point of time, lies to Balaram that he has a twin brother. The film revolves around this, as Rehman tries to manage a dual life, being himself and pretending to be his non-existent twin.
Critical Review- the misses and wins :
The plot or story of the film is anything but strong. In fact, it seems as if the director has not concentrated at all on these, but instead, has tried his best to make viewers laugh. The acts between Jayaprakash Reddy, Venkatesh and Ram made the tummy ache. There were funny screen names of the characters, like Reddy’s name, Eddulodumeaning buffalo man, or Narayana’sMusalodu which means old man. A lot of classic Andhra gags were used, which were really hilarious. Though the movie was mostly funny and managed to make the viewers laugh their hearts out, there were some very cheesy jokes too. Ram’s effeminate and gay character was a stereotype. Bhaskar’s insertion of distorted English is extremely funny. No major manipulations of the story have been done, except for a few dialogue changes. The actors have mostly a good job. Ram does justice to his role. Venkatesh maintains his sturdy and powerful appearance. Reddy and Narayana too, do well in their respective parts. Among the female characters, Padamsee’s performance is good, but, Anjali appears to be too gloomy for the movie and for the role.
The fight scenes were well made.The style of RohitShetty, director of BolBachchan, has very visibly inspired some parts of the execution, like in the scenes where cars are crushed at ear-bursting decibel levels. But, poor VFX work stole the limelight from the intended emotion and interest in the climax. S. Thaman has done a good job with the music of the movie.
Analysis:
Hits— Good punch lines, music, performance
Misses— Stereotypical jokes, lack of a proper plot, poor VFX work
Verdict: Masala is worth watching, if 140 minutes of hearty laughter.