Vinaya Vidheya Rama Review
Suggestions
Can watch again
No
Good for kids
No
Good for dates
No
Wait for OTT
Yes
A friend of mine who works in the film industry once asked me, "You write film reviews. You sit in a theatre for three hours and take about three more hours to collect your thoughts and write an essay. You forget about the film and the people behind it after because you get to watch another film next weekend. If one movie takes six hours out of your life, it takes two years out of a filmmaker's life. Who thinks about his 17,520 hours?"
To which I replied, "If I value six hours of my life to such a high degree, why shouldn't the filmmaker value his time to the same extent? If I expect quality from the film I watch, why shouldn't the filmmaker hold his work to the same standard? If filmmakers know more than film critics or audiences, shouldn't they be making better movies on the regular and schooling us week in week out? And most of all, if they were to fail, shouldn't their failures be noble failures instead of utterly unwatchable and cynical dumpster fires?"
Speaking of dumpster fires;
At a certain point in this "movie", Ram Konidela played by Konidela Ram Charan Teja (don't even get us started with this ham-handed piece of self-branding) decapitates two of the villain's henchmen. Their disembodied heads fly into the air and are quickly grabbed on to by two vultures. In a fit of rage, the villain (Raja Bhai Munna played by Vivek Oberoi) chases after the vultures leaving our "hero" to mercilessly murder a few dozen more of the former's men.
This happens.
The film expects us to take it seriously.
We ask, "Why should we?"
Because we respect our job and your intelligence, here's our understanding of this movie's plot. Four young orphans find an orphan baby and choose to raise it. The four young orphans grow up to be functioning members of society by studying well and working at the electoral commission. The fifth jobless orphan is our "hero" who has no goal in life except to beat up random people. A mafia lord in Bihar is hard at work obstructing the electoral process, and our hero and his brothers take it upon themselves to stop this madman.
Madman, Raja Bhai Munna, displays his ruthlessness by having a snake bite him which results in the snake's death. Yes, this happens too. And we ask, why should we take this seriously?
Raja Bhai ruthlessly massacres the brave troops of the army, and the movie expects us to believe that the only person capable of stopping him is our hero. The film's internal logic dictates that this one man is better than the third biggest armed force in the world. Why should we buy into this line of logic?
The movie throws in some token lines about feminism and women's rights, and follows it up with an intro shot of the lead actress that has the camera leering down her shirt. We ask you, why does this film deserve any sympathy?
The filmmakers fail to crop their effects properly, show their lead character take a journey from Hyderabad to the India-Nepal border in under 5 minutes, and use stock footage instead of B-roll in their transition shots. This is a movie that is too lazy to shoot a bunch of B-roll. If they don't care, why should we?
Do we have to like these characters because they are played by name actors, or do we have to like them because the writing, story-telling and acting are good? Why should we empathize with a character that casually kills 300 people, does not study or work, and has no redeeming quality other than "loving his family"? We ask the writers, director and makers of this film - why?
There was an oft-quoted saying at an old workplace of mine. It went, "You are only as good as your last shift." It was meant to instill focus and drive consistency. There were no easy outs nor were there any chances of resting on laurels. And we do think we speak for the film-going audience, at large, when we say this should be the mantra of Tollywood as well.
We say this because Vinaya Vidheya Rama is the product of a group of highly successful people resting on their laurels and trying to hit a much-coveted release date. Director Boyapati Srinu, composer Devi Sri Prasad, editor Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao and star Ram Charan Tej (who delivered a performance for the ages in Rangasthalam under a year ago) are all seemingly blissfully ignorant of the cinematic equivalent of a train wreck they've unleashed onto screens the world over. And just like a train wreck, there are horrifying visuals you would be better off never looking at, and ear-shattering noises that every ENT specialist has been warning of since times immemorial.
There are a limited number of synonyms to the words bad and cynical the English language has on offer. The sheer number of bad and cynical scenes, shots and sequences this "thing" has on offer far outnumber the aforementioned limited number. This movie, like its lead character, is beyond redemption.
To which I replied, "If I value six hours of my life to such a high degree, why shouldn't the filmmaker value his time to the same extent? If I expect quality from the film I watch, why shouldn't the filmmaker hold his work to the same standard? If filmmakers know more than film critics or audiences, shouldn't they be making better movies on the regular and schooling us week in week out? And most of all, if they were to fail, shouldn't their failures be noble failures instead of utterly unwatchable and cynical dumpster fires?"
Speaking of dumpster fires;
At a certain point in this "movie", Ram Konidela played by Konidela Ram Charan Teja (don't even get us started with this ham-handed piece of self-branding) decapitates two of the villain's henchmen. Their disembodied heads fly into the air and are quickly grabbed on to by two vultures. In a fit of rage, the villain (Raja Bhai Munna played by Vivek Oberoi) chases after the vultures leaving our "hero" to mercilessly murder a few dozen more of the former's men.
This happens.
The film expects us to take it seriously.
We ask, "Why should we?"
Because we respect our job and your intelligence, here's our understanding of this movie's plot. Four young orphans find an orphan baby and choose to raise it. The four young orphans grow up to be functioning members of society by studying well and working at the electoral commission. The fifth jobless orphan is our "hero" who has no goal in life except to beat up random people. A mafia lord in Bihar is hard at work obstructing the electoral process, and our hero and his brothers take it upon themselves to stop this madman.
Madman, Raja Bhai Munna, displays his ruthlessness by having a snake bite him which results in the snake's death. Yes, this happens too. And we ask, why should we take this seriously?
Raja Bhai ruthlessly massacres the brave troops of the army, and the movie expects us to believe that the only person capable of stopping him is our hero. The film's internal logic dictates that this one man is better than the third biggest armed force in the world. Why should we buy into this line of logic?
The movie throws in some token lines about feminism and women's rights, and follows it up with an intro shot of the lead actress that has the camera leering down her shirt. We ask you, why does this film deserve any sympathy?
The filmmakers fail to crop their effects properly, show their lead character take a journey from Hyderabad to the India-Nepal border in under 5 minutes, and use stock footage instead of B-roll in their transition shots. This is a movie that is too lazy to shoot a bunch of B-roll. If they don't care, why should we?
Do we have to like these characters because they are played by name actors, or do we have to like them because the writing, story-telling and acting are good? Why should we empathize with a character that casually kills 300 people, does not study or work, and has no redeeming quality other than "loving his family"? We ask the writers, director and makers of this film - why?
There was an oft-quoted saying at an old workplace of mine. It went, "You are only as good as your last shift." It was meant to instill focus and drive consistency. There were no easy outs nor were there any chances of resting on laurels. And we do think we speak for the film-going audience, at large, when we say this should be the mantra of Tollywood as well.
We say this because Vinaya Vidheya Rama is the product of a group of highly successful people resting on their laurels and trying to hit a much-coveted release date. Director Boyapati Srinu, composer Devi Sri Prasad, editor Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao and star Ram Charan Tej (who delivered a performance for the ages in Rangasthalam under a year ago) are all seemingly blissfully ignorant of the cinematic equivalent of a train wreck they've unleashed onto screens the world over. And just like a train wreck, there are horrifying visuals you would be better off never looking at, and ear-shattering noises that every ENT specialist has been warning of since times immemorial.
There are a limited number of synonyms to the words bad and cynical the English language has on offer. The sheer number of bad and cynical scenes, shots and sequences this "thing" has on offer far outnumber the aforementioned limited number. This movie, like its lead character, is beyond redemption.
VINAYA VIDHEYA RAMA SNAPSHOT
TOP COMMENT
Somebody, kick this Boyapati out of the movie industry please and send him down the drain in which Meher Ramesh and Srinu Vaitla were sent. OMG, with every movie I think he has reached nadir and can't fall any further, he proves me wrong by showing that he still hasn't reached the lowest point yet. And god knows, how this script has passed through so many experienced minds like Ramcharan, Chiru, Prashanth, Vivek, etc. And rubbing salt into our wounds is all these coming on TV channels and boasting how a great movie like this is made by them.
TJ - You and your team, please do us a favor and try to publish reviews as soon as any movie releases. If so, you will be doing great service for humanity and their mental health besides saving lakhs of public's hard earned money if not crores.
TJ - You and your team, please do us a favor and try to publish reviews as soon as any movie releases. If so, you will be doing great service for humanity and their mental health besides saving lakhs of public's hard earned money if not crores.
VINAYA VIDHEYA RAMA USER REVIEWS
1 - 3 OF 3 COMMENTS
1 USER
Performances
Script
Music/Soundtrack
Visuals
1.0
1.0
1.0
2.0
Can watch again - No
Good for kids - No
Good for dates - No
Wait for OTT - No
Hello Mr T J Reddy.
Boyapati has done nothing new in this film that he has not done in his previous hits like legend, simha,sarainodu. His blend of violence, hammy performances, toxic masculinity, regressive potrayal of women, over the top acting have all led to hits except VVR. As someone who has seen the industry from the inside, why do you think directors of his ilk still rule the roost in TFI( Vaitla Seenu, Vinayak include comedy in their movies but they too have done nothing new in their films) Why do established actors still work with such directors rather than work with guys who do offbeat cinema?
Boyapati has done nothing new in this film that he has not done in his previous hits like legend, simha,sarainodu. His blend of violence, hammy performances, toxic masculinity, regressive potrayal of women, over the top acting have all led to hits except VVR. As someone who has seen the industry from the inside, why do you think directors of his ilk still rule the roost in TFI( Vaitla Seenu, Vinayak include comedy in their movies but they too have done nothing new in their films) Why do established actors still work with such directors rather than work with guys who do offbeat cinema?
I genuinely think a segment in Puri Jagannadh's Neninthe addresses this phenomenon extremely well. It is not that these filmmakers aren't self-aware, it is just that they think nothing but this brand of filmmaking works.
Boyapati has been a long-time stunt coordinator before turning to directing. In Bhadra, he showcases that he knows how to get a genuinely emotional story across with a good bit of comedy and an acceptable version of action mixed in.
As time goes on though, I feel that these directors (who write their own movies) run out of good stories to tell. Say what you want about Temper, it is Puri Jagannadh's best work in a long time. That film works because it's not him behind the story. It was Vakkantham Vamsi. Puri's strengths were always his dialogues. During his initial run, he had a bunch of good stories to tell but as time went on he got repetitive and to mask his narrative constraints, the action and songs and needless comedy and hero glorification got more inane.
This principle applies to Srinu Vaitla, VV Vinayak and so many more directors. Telugu cinema needs writers. Not dialogue writers who are wholly employed to pump up scripts with punchlines but actual story writers with a voice.
Actors and producers trust them because they are a known entity. There are minimum guarantee filmmakers whose track record suggests that the producer's and distributor's money won't be squandered. As film is a business, the money men look for that. And actors too look for hits, for obvious reasons.
With every hit, every single technician and artist's remuneration leaps up a tad. With sky high money being spent on a few select members of the team, introducing new people (be it writers or actors) takes a back seat. Hence, VVR. The money spent on Boyapati and Ram Charan take a chunk away from the film itself.
A sustainable model comes from the Malayalam film industry where actor and director salaries are capped. Hence, you see multiple Mohanlal, Mammothy, Dulqueer and Prithviraj films every year.
That opens up opportunities and work for everyone and leaves a lot of room for experimentation as the risk of massive financial failures is averted.
A massive change in how films are made and marketed is required in Tollywood. Let's hope we see it sooner rather than later. As we saw in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the new blood has great stories to tell and the old guard is fading into the background.
Boyapati has been a long-time stunt coordinator before turning to directing. In Bhadra, he showcases that he knows how to get a genuinely emotional story across with a good bit of comedy and an acceptable version of action mixed in.
As time goes on though, I feel that these directors (who write their own movies) run out of good stories to tell. Say what you want about Temper, it is Puri Jagannadh's best work in a long time. That film works because it's not him behind the story. It was Vakkantham Vamsi. Puri's strengths were always his dialogues. During his initial run, he had a bunch of good stories to tell but as time went on he got repetitive and to mask his narrative constraints, the action and songs and needless comedy and hero glorification got more inane.
This principle applies to Srinu Vaitla, VV Vinayak and so many more directors. Telugu cinema needs writers. Not dialogue writers who are wholly employed to pump up scripts with punchlines but actual story writers with a voice.
Actors and producers trust them because they are a known entity. There are minimum guarantee filmmakers whose track record suggests that the producer's and distributor's money won't be squandered. As film is a business, the money men look for that. And actors too look for hits, for obvious reasons.
With every hit, every single technician and artist's remuneration leaps up a tad. With sky high money being spent on a few select members of the team, introducing new people (be it writers or actors) takes a back seat. Hence, VVR. The money spent on Boyapati and Ram Charan take a chunk away from the film itself.
A sustainable model comes from the Malayalam film industry where actor and director salaries are capped. Hence, you see multiple Mohanlal, Mammothy, Dulqueer and Prithviraj films every year.
That opens up opportunities and work for everyone and leaves a lot of room for experimentation as the risk of massive financial failures is averted.
A massive change in how films are made and marketed is required in Tollywood. Let's hope we see it sooner rather than later. As we saw in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the new blood has great stories to tell and the old guard is fading into the background.
Somebody, kick this Boyapati out of the movie industry please and send him down the drain in which Meher Ramesh and Srinu Vaitla were sent. OMG, with every movie I think he has reached nadir and can't fall any further, he proves me wrong by showing that he still hasn't reached the lowest point yet. And god knows, how this script has passed through so many experienced minds like Ramcharan, Chiru, Prashanth, Vivek, etc. And rubbing salt into our wounds is all these coming on TV channels and boasting how a great movie like this is made by them.
TJ - You and your team, please do us a favor and try to publish reviews as soon as any movie releases. If so, you will be doing great service for humanity and their mental health besides saving lakhs of public's hard earned money if not crores.
TJ - You and your team, please do us a favor and try to publish reviews as soon as any movie releases. If so, you will be doing great service for humanity and their mental health besides saving lakhs of public's hard earned money if not crores.
We are trying to get the word out as soon as can. Hoping we keep you away from the bad and steer you towards the good.
HAHAHA! This is hilarious stuff. I was expecting a 2.0 from TJ, but this movie probably deserved a 1.0. I can understand how Boyapati could come up with such a bad script (I am assuming it was Koratala Siva who came up with the good parts of the scripts for his previous films), and how DSP must've given up midway through the score, but how on earth did Ram Charan think this was a good idea? Especially given that the audience rewarded him for a superb Dhruva and an average Rangasthalam for excellent story-telling and acting/world-building respectively. Is this their way of punishing the audience for good behaviour, or is this a case of star egos coming into play and making them think that audiences are going to lap up this crap?
I still think Sarainodu and Jaya Janaki Nayaka were fundamentally worse films (strictly subjective opinions of mine). Not to say that this film was any better, it's just that the other two were more depressing. I guess I am going to hate on Legend while I am at it. That was a train wreck of a movie as well. The only movie of Boyapati's I like is Bhadra, and now that I've had time to think about it, credit should be given to the writers of the movie.
The two places I disagree with you about the film's review are the vulture scene and the Gujarat-Bihar in under 1-min on top of a train scene. That was just comic gold, and the stuff great memes are made of. I also liked the scene where he killed 50+ people even though they 1. all had guns, 2. had the higher ground, and 3. probably had better guns than the hero. I remember having discussions about Vijayendra Varma for years after the film came about, this one made the cut as well.
On a different note, I loved your Peta review as well. Mostly because I agreed with all of it. As much as I liked the first half, I couldn't wait for the predictable second half to wrap up fast enough. I am sure a lot of movie-goers can see the twists coming from a mile away.
I saw F2 as well. Hilarious first half. Absolute laugh riot, although you might have to ignore the mild misoginism. I wish the movie had a decent second half, but the movie suffered from your typical Tollywood second half syndrome. Barely any laughs and way too many cringe-worthy and preachy scenes. Watch the first half and leave - that would be my recommendation.
Your review of Kathanayakudu wasn't too encouraging, but I think I'll still check it out just to see the great man's story play out on screen. Keep these reviews coming, TJ!
I still think Sarainodu and Jaya Janaki Nayaka were fundamentally worse films (strictly subjective opinions of mine). Not to say that this film was any better, it's just that the other two were more depressing. I guess I am going to hate on Legend while I am at it. That was a train wreck of a movie as well. The only movie of Boyapati's I like is Bhadra, and now that I've had time to think about it, credit should be given to the writers of the movie.
The two places I disagree with you about the film's review are the vulture scene and the Gujarat-Bihar in under 1-min on top of a train scene. That was just comic gold, and the stuff great memes are made of. I also liked the scene where he killed 50+ people even though they 1. all had guns, 2. had the higher ground, and 3. probably had better guns than the hero. I remember having discussions about Vijayendra Varma for years after the film came about, this one made the cut as well.
On a different note, I loved your Peta review as well. Mostly because I agreed with all of it. As much as I liked the first half, I couldn't wait for the predictable second half to wrap up fast enough. I am sure a lot of movie-goers can see the twists coming from a mile away.
I saw F2 as well. Hilarious first half. Absolute laugh riot, although you might have to ignore the mild misoginism. I wish the movie had a decent second half, but the movie suffered from your typical Tollywood second half syndrome. Barely any laughs and way too many cringe-worthy and preachy scenes. Watch the first half and leave - that would be my recommendation.
Your review of Kathanayakudu wasn't too encouraging, but I think I'll still check it out just to see the great man's story play out on screen. Keep these reviews coming, TJ!
Pros: Telugu audiences rejecting this movie and clearly highlighting their expectations
Cons: Anything and everything else associated with the movie
Cons: Anything and everything else associated with the movie
RATING
1
So, I ended up watching Kathanayakudu yesterday. Had mixed feelings. It was a tale of two halves for me. I didn't like the first half, mostly because it didn't feel authentic, and I felt it resorted to too much self-aggrandizement. Die-hard fans of NTR (like yours truly) can clearly tell most of the incidents were concocted. You could clearly see Balayya's influence on the first half, and instead of actually elevating the great man to an even more god-like status, the first half brought him down a peg or two down from the pedestal I place him on.
The second half, on the other hand, worked for me. Even though there is just as much self-aggrandizement, and even though just as many creative liberties were taken, it felt more compelling to me. I felt Krish exerted more of his influence there and deftly wove in social and political commentary quite well into the narrative. Even the scenes where his family were concerned when he acting with younger heroines were very well handled. The movie could have done with a couple more scenes like that. Of course, Balayya praising baby Balayya on screen felt a bit much for me, meta as it was. I mean, vamsoddharakudu, really? It's not even like he is the eldest or the youngest of the siblings, right?
Overall, this was my Sankranthi report card:
F2 First Half > Peta First Half = Kathanayakudu Second Half > Peta Second Half > Kathanayukdu First Half > VVR (Train + Vulture Scenes + Interval bounce fight) > F2 Second Half > Rest of VVR
The second half, on the other hand, worked for me. Even though there is just as much self-aggrandizement, and even though just as many creative liberties were taken, it felt more compelling to me. I felt Krish exerted more of his influence there and deftly wove in social and political commentary quite well into the narrative. Even the scenes where his family were concerned when he acting with younger heroines were very well handled. The movie could have done with a couple more scenes like that. Of course, Balayya praising baby Balayya on screen felt a bit much for me, meta as it was. I mean, vamsoddharakudu, really? It's not even like he is the eldest or the youngest of the siblings, right?
Overall, this was my Sankranthi report card:
F2 First Half > Peta First Half = Kathanayakudu Second Half > Peta Second Half > Kathanayukdu First Half > VVR (Train + Vulture Scenes + Interval bounce fight) > F2 Second Half > Rest of VVR
Ah, TCMG. Always appreciate hearing from you.
I did laugh out loud a lot at VVR but then again, when you write about the actual review has to take center stage. A fundamentally broken movie from all filmmaking perspectives is just not okay for me. A film with no continuity or editing flow or musical cues or B-roll can go to hell.
I did not review Petta but I'll pass along your kind words to Swaroop. Petta, for me, was a film of two halves. The first was a massive Rajni tribute which I loved and the second was a Karthik Subbaraj movie with a very grey-shaded Rajni character which I loved too. Thalaivar is a super underrated actor. He pulls off both sides of the film with ease but the film itself feels conflicted. So, it kinda cuts itself down. That being said, I cheered my lungs out and enjoyed the hell outta Petta in the theatre.
Kathanayakudu is a weird animal. It reminds of me of when Dhoni produced his own biopic. It just does not work well. As much as you want to like it, the disconnect is clearly visible. You never get to see a true reflection of anyone that way. The Nandamuri family has gone to great lengths to cheer their family name and this is no different. Unlike other directors, Krish has a voice and a style of his own so he made the film his own as much as he could. Could it have been better? Most definitely. There's so much material to go by. But with this crew behind it, it is a hard ask.
I did laugh out loud a lot at VVR but then again, when you write about the actual review has to take center stage. A fundamentally broken movie from all filmmaking perspectives is just not okay for me. A film with no continuity or editing flow or musical cues or B-roll can go to hell.
I did not review Petta but I'll pass along your kind words to Swaroop. Petta, for me, was a film of two halves. The first was a massive Rajni tribute which I loved and the second was a Karthik Subbaraj movie with a very grey-shaded Rajni character which I loved too. Thalaivar is a super underrated actor. He pulls off both sides of the film with ease but the film itself feels conflicted. So, it kinda cuts itself down. That being said, I cheered my lungs out and enjoyed the hell outta Petta in the theatre.
Kathanayakudu is a weird animal. It reminds of me of when Dhoni produced his own biopic. It just does not work well. As much as you want to like it, the disconnect is clearly visible. You never get to see a true reflection of anyone that way. The Nandamuri family has gone to great lengths to cheer their family name and this is no different. Unlike other directors, Krish has a voice and a style of his own so he made the film his own as much as he could. Could it have been better? Most definitely. There's so much material to go by. But with this crew behind it, it is a hard ask.
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