Subhaaseesulu Review

There are movies whose endings make you happy, and there are movies whose ending makes you happy. And just when you thought you had got the world neatly classified thus, this one happens to you. With Subhaseessulu you don't know which one of the two reasons to be happy for, because the problem is even more fundamental - you don't know that it's time to be happy. For, you never know that the movie has ended.

Nagarjuna Reddy's woes are even worse. While you are confused primarily with the ending, he is confused all through the film. The director can't decide whether he's making a movie with a social message or a love story, and ultimately combines both for which you pay the price for 2-1/2 hours.

Subhaseessulu begins by showing Vijay (Anit Raj), an orphan, being brought up by his grandmother, and his efforts for the development of his village. He falls in love with Rani (Varsha), niece of the village head Balaramaiah, and, as the love blossoms, gets the blessings of both families.

Just as everything is about to be settled, Rani's father Krishna (who all the while was running a business in Dubai) arrives and expresses his distaste at the arrangement - for some reason he believes that the youth of the villages are no good. Vijay, as is the wont of the hero, challenges Krishna that he will earn more money and reputation in one year than Krishna can in the same time, and that too in a city.

Vijay reaches the city and stays with K K Rao (Tanikela Bharani), and starts a restaurant. He is on his way to success when he is conned by Rao. Somehow a long lost uncle (Chandramohan) in the city comes to his aid, and with his help, Vijay manages to achieve his goal.

Krishna now regrets his decision and accepts the alliance. On the day of the engagement, however, the priest informs Krishna of a defect in Vijay's horoscope that will result in Rani's being widowed in a short while after their marriage. But Vijay and Rani decide to go against their elders' views, and get married.

This is where either the producer ran out of money or the director got bored. Vijay has an accident, and is admitted to a hospital in a critical state. As soon as he regains his consciousness, he insists on going to his village to inspect a project of essence, which would result in saving the village from God knows what. And surprise, surprise, the movie ends! There is no mention of what happens to the hero, the heroine, or anybody else after their reaching the village.

The problems with Subhaseessulu are too numerous to comprehensively recount here (or anywhere), but here's an effort. Firstly, characters keep appearing from out of nowhere and disappearing without any explanation all through the film. Then, the comedy track is very thin, with a lot of overacting by Brahmanandam, M S Narayana and company. Senior actors like Chandramohan are wasted in minor roles. And as for the main cast, Anit Raj seriously requires classes in acting, and Varsha, in her second role after the runaway hit Nuvve Kaavaali, is just an ornament.

The music is as melodious as a garage. And guess what? Bhadrachala Ramadas is part of it. Only, he will regret the day he composed his melodious krithi 'Paluke Bangaramayera', seeing the way that it has been ripped apart and all its melody plain murdered.

Well, you still have a choice in your participation in this.