Veedekkadi Mogudandi Review

Attack of the killer tomatoes! Attaaaaccck of the killer tomatoes!!!

Naah, nothing wrong with me, except that I wish that the killer tomatoes would have attacked earlier and spared me the trouble and fuel of checking this one out. What is with Telugu flicks nowadays? Wooden faced actors and actresses seem to be virtually crawling out of the woodwork.

The story of this flick is something real Gothic, straight out of the Middle Ages. Shriram (Venu) is a guy who doesn't even inhale unless his family astrologer Shastry (AVS) tells him to. One day this oracle predicts, rather ominously at that, that this guy's wife will die after childbirth (what a cool astrologer!). This gets Venu all hyped up, because his mother too had died right after delivering him. And so he makes up his mind that he won't marry.

But his family will have none of it - they want to get him married and packed off. And when they keep coming up with the 'pellichupulu' and stuff, he goes bananas and worms his way out. But then finally he gets married to a female called Sruti (Sruti). Now we all know the white sari / fruits / glass of milk routine in the films - we've seen it so many times over the millenniums, and we all sheepishly acknowledge the hanky panky that follows. But not in this flick - no sirreee Bob! Venu puts his foot down and refuses to consummate the marriage. For the next thirty minutes, this is all that the flick tries to focus on - will they do it or won't they. And when finally it does happen, does the wife survive childbirth?

The whole film is based on that one dumb, havoc-creating prediction. Like we don't have enough problems dealing with our own Rahu, Ketu, Shani and stuff, do we actually have to pay good money to watch another guy suffer from overwhelming paranoia?

That's about the base of the flick. The topping includes the usual comic relief in the form of Brahmanandam, Ali and other people who do everything but provide relief. Brahmanandam as a comedian is quite talented, but I really think he needs to go on a vacation. He is in practically every flick that has a lousy storyline. And looking at that heroine Shruti, you think, man, they don't believe in screen tests anymore, huh?

The performances by the lead pair can be summarized as they came, they gaped and they left. Venu is so wooden, he's a carpenter's delight. Music? What music?

En fin, another nominee for the Razzies. I predict that this one will sure take home the cake, the cherry and the Oracle.