Kubusam Review

Kubusum supposedly means the skin that a snake leaves behind after molting. We tried to make sense of the symbolism of the name, and gave up pretty soon. You'd rather ask Dr. L. Srinath. And you just may find yourself at the suffering end of a 15- minute song or a 30-minute speech. We suggest you don't want to know why this movie was called Kubusum.

Of late, the naxal situation is getting worse each day, and things between the cops and the naxals are becoming rather hot, with negotiations, alleged encounters, repercussions and what not. And I guess one could call the release of Kubusum "well-timed". Unfortunately, after watching Narayana Murthy, Madala Ranga Rao, Mohan Babu and God knows how many others blow up and get blown (up?), it's just not in us to say anything like that.

We'll tell you the names of the characters and you can guess who plays which. No? Okay, we'll tell you who plays which and you can guess what they do in the movie... no again? Well, you watch the movie and then guess how much the reviewer gets paid!

We have Srihari playing Shivaram Anna, Dr. Srinath playing Shankar Anna and Manivannan playing Peddanna, and then there are many other annas and annis. When they are not singing ballads, delivering firebrand speeches or having board meetings, they cause havoc. And

the cops don't take it lying down. They retaliate by having their own board meetings, ambushing the naxal-hideouts and even cooking up some false encounters. Action - reaction - interaction - tortuous traction! Anyway, the movie ends with the bad guys and some of the bad actors getting killed, and the cops and the naxals deciding to talk over a mug of ale. Sigh, wipe, sniff... waaaaaaah!

The songs are so long that the same song could put you to sleep with the mukhda and wake you up with the anthra. I just exhausted my best simile for length, but it suffices to say that the speeches are longer. The performances are average except for those of Srihari and Manivannan. The lyrics and dialogues are in pure Telangana, and comprehending them is tough if you aren't very familiar with the dialect. What they are trying to say is pretty obvious, though. "Me anna, you dead!"

I remember a speech in that flick "Independence Day" that had everyone raving and getting adrenaline-caused goose bumps. Then there were one or two isolated incidents of cinematic patriotism and fervor that managed to be un petit peu cathartic. But these ballads, firebrand dialogues, and a cavalier attitude towards defying authority and killing people are not exactly what bump off geese. What say people?