Jayam Review

Simplicity is an art that defies analysis. Edward De Bono is said to be an exponent of this art. Teja, I guess, is the Indian equivalent. He did it with Chitram. He did it again with that absolutely unimaginative piece of reel called Nuvvu Nenu. Jayam looks like it'll do a repeat.

With the exception of the Teja himself and the music director R P Patnaik, most of the crew of Jayam comprises new faces. The story is simple enough though there is undue weightage given to some strange fundas that we will discuss soon enough. Yet, after the success of Nuvvu Nenu, we know that nothing is predictable, and that - and that alone - makes Jayam a movie to watch out for.

Sujatha (Sada) and Raghu (Gopichand) are betrothed in childhood itself when their respective dads were buddies. Raghu's dad gets rich and moves away, Raghu in tow. With money come wiles, and Raghu grows up into a despicable, sadistic character who looks like he uses an "Essential Wiles" checklist before starting off on his regular day.

Sujatha on the other hand grows up into a simple village belle. Except for an annoying mannerism reminiscent of a Rexona ad, she is likeable enough. And here we also meet Venkataramana (Nitin), the Indian version of Spiderman - or should it be Honeybeeman? The guy is from a poor family and makes money suspended on a rope collecting honey - a skill that proves useful enough later on.

Venky and Sujatha meet and fall in love without much fuss. Some melodious songs and well-shot scenes later, we have one humongous haddi in the form of Raghu who jumps into the fray. He reminds Sujatha of their childhood betrothal and they get re-engaged. He beats up Venky and almost gets married to Sujatha.

Venky, however, does the great Indian rope trick, first for writing threatening messages on walls, and later to whisk away the girl. Then follows a really long chase scene where we see Raghu's javelin-throwing skills, the symbolic relevance of the flag that has Lord Hanuman lifting the Sanjeevani mountain, and also how the best things in life are never perfect.

The performances are impressive enough

for persons new to the screen. Both Nitin and Sada have done reasonably well, though Nitin could have been better and appears too small to play the role. Gopichand however takes the whole bakery. You grow to detest the man, and that speaks volumes about the way he has executed the character. Shakila in a surprising appearance and an actor with the screen name of Ali too are interesting.

The music is a bonus. The second half drags and looks silly at times. The fight scenes especially are quite undigestable. There is only so much credit you can attribute to a flag. Jayam turns out to be just an average flick at the end of the day.