Magadheera Movie Review

By Sulekha, on July 31st, 2009

Movie Review : Magadheera
Rating : 8/10
Banner : Geetha Arts
Cast : Ramcharan Teja, Kajal Agarwal, Devgill, Srihari, Sunil, Brahmanandam, Sarath Babu, Subbaraya Sharma, Kim Sharma and Others
Cinematography : Senthil Kumar
Music : M M Keeravani
Producer: Allu Aravind

Director: S S Rajamouli
Released Date: July 31, 2009Story:
A gripping tale of romance, the story begins with Harsha (charan) who is an avid bike racer and his life takes a turn when his hand brushes with that of Indu (Kajal). Since he does not see her face, he wants to know who she is and finally manages to get her. The truth goes back 400 years ago when Harsha was Kalabhairava, a brave warrior general. Indu is princess Mitra who falls in love with Bhairava. However, her relative Randev (devgill) has an eye for her and he wants her at any cost. A tragic ending happens there but the story comes back to the present and Randev is again the relative of Indu. Whether Harsha gets successful this time or not forms the rest of the story.

Presentation:
The director has come up with a regular storyline with an element of past life but then the presentation was fabulous. The dialogues were apt, the script was sensible and the screenplay was adept. Background score and music were alright but cinematography was mind blowing. The main life and soul of the movie is the graphics and the visual effects department. They were well supported by a masterly cinematography.Editing was neat, costumes were royal and trendy, art department was top notch. Charan has did full justice to the role and has carried both characters very strongly. Kajal was seductive as usual and she will steal hearts. Srihari gave the momentum, Devgill was just okay, he could have been better, Sunil and Brahmi gave few moments of humor. The others contributed effectively to the film.

Performances:

Charan has come up with a mature performance and he has carried the film very well. Both his characters were done good justice and he reminded of his father at many places. Kajal looked bubbly, seductive and royal and she was the best choice. Devgill was a letdown as he could not emote that well, his act could have been tuned. Srihari was effective, Sunil was neat, Brahmi was regular, Sarath Babu was graceful, the others did their bit as per the standard.

Highlights:

The film should be watched for undergoing an unspeakable experience with the following:

* The bike adventure in first half
* The Set of Udayagadh replicating the 16th century empire city
* Background sound that brings Goosebumps
* Wonderful canning of songs viz., Cheppinde Cheppake.., BangaruKodi petta and Dheera Dheera
* Battle at Bhaiaravakona between Kalabhairava and Sher Khan’s soldiers
* Climax song for its creativity

Conclusion:
The film has been a brave attempt at taking the Telugu cinema to a different level. Not just in terms of genre, but also in terms of the technical aspects and the production values. While the first half of the film was quite pale, it is just before the interval that the heat builds up. The second half makes up for the slackened pace and is a gripping treat to the audience. The idol of Lord Shiva gives goosebumps. Keeping the content part aside, this is truly a grand effort by the makers and it has created a new dimension to historical movies.