Kotha Bangaru lokam review - Mickey has created gold out of dust

Synopsis: The critics are terming it the best film of the year,some others are going to the extent of calling it a path breaking film.But is it worth all the hype????I went to the film expecting another bomarillu from the 'dil' raju stable.So did the film live up to my expectations?????In one word "no".Is it a bad film???.The answer again a "no". Mickey Mayer has single handedly lifted the film from a medicore one to a very emotionally capitivating film.This film is a perfect example of what a musician can do to a film.His background score has elevated some very ordinary scenes in the film to an extraordinary level. So,lets delve into the details of the film.

Plot:
Balu(varun sandesh) is the only son of a doting couple(Prakash Raj and Jayasudha).They love him a lot and show a loads and loads of affection.Swapna(swetha prasad) is a girl who wants to break free from the shackles imposed at home.Balu and Swapna fall in love at a very tender age(intermediate) and the college management comes to know of it.Swapna's parents also get to know this and take her away from college.Balu is also asked to get his father before he can get into the college again.What happens after this forms the rest of the story...

Analysis:

Artists performance:

Varun Sandesh: Without doubt, the biggest negative of this film. He looks very bad compared to 'happy days' in this film with his moustache and doesnt look like an intermediate student either.He is just average in his acting.I dont understand why he smiles for everything in the film.It pains to see him smile even in emotional scenes.His diction needs a special mention.He cant even speak telugu properly leave alone the coasta accent he tried to use in this film.Actually the difference was much clearer as ahuthi prasad spoke unflinching coasta dialect.

Shwetha Prasad:I was actually cursing the makers for casting Shwetha when i saw the promos but the director is spot on this time around.Shwetha is an amazing actress without doubt.She looks the age she ought to...She is not very beautiful but there is something about her that hooks u to the screen.Her acting in pathos scenes is brilliant without doubt..I really hope to see her more often on screen but the only problem is that she is not very good looking and also does not have the curves required for those stupid glamourous roles.I would like to mention here that her dubbing was amazing.It is a very fresh sound and very cute.She also needs to take care of her dressing.But, I have no doubt to say that she is here to stay.

Others:Well,Jayasudha acted quite well but the role was not very well etched out .Prakash Raj was cool in his role but was very limited in terms of screen presence.Rao ramesh who played the role of a lecturer was a bit over the top but there is nothing much to fault in his performance.Brahmi garu acted quite well in a serious role but the problem is that the audience are no longer able to imagine brahmi in a serious role.Ahuthi prasad and Rajitha as the heroine's parents were competent. The guy who acted as the heroine's mammiah was very good...None of the others were good in their roles...

Technicians:

Mickey.J.Mayer:
Brilliant...The songs "nenani neevan" and "nijanga" are amazing compositions and all the other songs are good enough..But, Mickey's greatest contribution to this film is his brilliant background score without doubt.He has elevated a number of ordinary scenes to extraordinary...He is the backbone of this film...The film would have been a damp squid without his extraordinary background score..No second thoughts on that..The director did not do justice to his tunes due to wrong placement of songs in the second half

Srikanth Addala:
He has handled the story,screenplay,dialogues and direction department for this film.The story is very thin but definitely a very nice one.His dialogues are good at places,extraordinary in few places.His direction is good and he has handled a few scenes very well..The department where he fails big time is his screenplay..The second half ,especiallly, is interlaced with absoulte nonsense like the seperate comedy track of the heroes friends for example..The climax scene at the railway station is outrageously comical if not anything else...And the twist he had to bring about to change the hero's attitude was so contrived and the biggest failure as a writer...This twist undid everything else he had been trying to say in the film about the upbringing od children...

Others:
Chota.K.Naidu's cinematography was nice..It was not great work but definitely good....Dil Raju s production values are very good as always...Others did not have much of a job in this film.

Brilliant scenes:
1)The interval scene was brilliantly written,neatly executed and nicely picturized...Brilliant background score enhanced the scene to extraordinary levels.The only sore point was the horrible acting by Varun Sandesh.
2)The examination scene was actually a farce in terms of writing but again the brilliant background score will make u shed a tear or two

Outrageous scenes:
1)The climax will easily rank as one of the worst written scenes ever....It was more or less a commercial liability..I am pretty sure the director had other ideas but gave in for the commercial aspects of the film...Definitely a very compromise on the scrip level as there is no conviction or reasoning behind Balu's attitude
2)The heroes conversation with heroine's father was very poorly written as well

Final analysis:
It is just an average film with a few extraordinary scenes thanks to mickey summing up to be at best a time pass flick...The first half is pretty good with a superb interval bang...The second half was high on emotional content but let down in terms of writing and a ludicruosly written climax....