Dec 18, 2006

Godavari



It has been a long time since I watched a Telugu movie and I was tempted to watch Godavari after reading some positive comment on it in 'Arasu Badhilgal' of Kumudam. I am glad I did, bcos movies such as this are very rare. I can say with assurance that this is one of the best movies I have seen in recent years, and the best love story after 'Kaadhal'.
Sriram (Sumanth), an MS from the US, is an idologist. He wants to join politics and serve the country. He has crush on his cousin, Raji (Neetu) who is his childhood sweetheart. Raji likes him too and her dad would have got her married to him only if he had secured a good job in accordance with his education and proved himself. Raji gets engaged to an IPS recruit and the wedding is slated to take place in Badrachalam. Seetha (Kamalinee) runs a boutique and is ambitious. Her business is dull and her family wants her to get married soon. Sriram and Seetha meet each other on a boat travel to Badrachalam, across the river Godavari. The movie is about how the lives of the three people converge during the boat trip.
Storywise, it is a very simple triangular love story, and we get to see how friendship blooms into love through a series of events. The most unique feature is that almost everything happens on the boat. It also throws in 4 youngsters, each of whom is very different from the other in personalities. The calming influence of the river is reflected in the way the things unfold. The movie is sprinkled throughout with sweet romantic encounters. My fav scenes are the treasure hunt, the first encounter between them, the climax and her interactions with his granny.
Sumanth is OK but my star of the movie was undoubtedly Kamalinee. After a disappointingly brief but charming appearnce in VV, I was looking forward to a full-length role by her, and, Oh boy, it cant probably get better than this. She is an epitome of the modern career-oriented, struggling 21st century woman who is a very difficult puzzle to understand but, nevertheless, a very interesting one to solve. She does full justice to the role and her big, expression-filled eyes are a treat to watch. Neetu is beautiful and plays her role well.
The music is great. I loved the title song and the background score. The cinematography beautifully catches the breathtaking Godavari river and various natural colors of the sky during the different times of the day. Oh, I forgot to mention the boat.. which is like a character in the movie. Its spellbounding beauty in the nights and its various 'attachments' (like the small hut) have made me such a huge fan of the boat that I have decided that the boat trip across Godavari would be atop my list of favorite things to do during my next visit to India. Anyway, that apart, despite my limited knowledge of Telugu, I could enjoy this movie totally.. I strongly recommend this movie to you all. A must watch for romantic movie lovers.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Raju ,

Nice review on a decent movie . SPB's song on Godavari was great .

Anonymous said...

If you have enjoyed Godavari, then try watching Anand by the same director, Sekhar.K who have created sensation.

Point note taking : Kamilenee is the heroine

Anonymous said...

Performances : Sreeram's characterisation is not well itched.
Kamilinee did a good job .
Neetu Chandra as a confused girl was ok.
The kid is extremely good in his role.

Anonymous said...

Songs: Just ok to listen.It sounded very similar to Anand songs. Should have improved.

Anonymous said...

This movie delves well on how a man recovers from his rejection . Undoubtedly a good watch .

Raju said...

Tarun, welcome here..

Yeah.. the songs were very soothing.. Chitra's sweet voice and the light instrumental music gelled very well.. As I mentioned in the post, SPB's title song was exellent.
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Anon, I found only recently that Anand was his movie. I knew Kamalinee was there, when we did research on her upon hearing that she is one of the heroines for Kamal's VV.. I will look forward to watching that one too.. thanks for ur reco..
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Anon, true on Sreeram's characterization.. thats why I mentioned his role in one line.. but not too bad either.. it was OK. The kid was gud.. yeah.. and u forgot to mention the animated dog.,, His conversation with the kid, the parrot and the other dog were cute and funny..

Raju said...

Anon, since I hadnt listened to Anand, I cant comment on that part. But, to me, it was a welcome change from noisy fast masala songs. The songs in Godavari were very simple and sweet..
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Sasikala, welcome here..
Well said.. Sumanth's feelings could be felt through his face.. The nice thing about the movie is, as his love is rejected, a new love comes knocking the door.. Kamalinee's initial likings towards him come due to the mercy she feels for him when he is sad.. Eventually his previous love paves the way for the next one.. very nice indeed..
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Nag, saw it online.. Initially I got hold of a VCD-rip whose quality was good.. I watched only for about an hour or so and I was impressed. I wanted to fully enjoy it, with the subtitles included. Unfortunately, my local Indian grocery stores didnt have this movie so couldnt rent the DVD. Then I came across a DVD rip online.. it was very good..

Me too said...

mm... haven't seen such a positive review from you in a long time!! I can't even remember when I saw a Telugu movie last(Swarna Kamalam, may be!)!!

Raju said...

Aparna, amam ille? Enna panradhu.. the movies of the past 3 months were very bad.. none worth mentioning. Though this one is over 6 months old, i saw it only in sept one and recently second time... Couldnt resist writing review for this..

Swarnakamalam? OMG.. that is long long ago... mm.. I am sure you have missed some good telugu ones along the way.

narayanan said...

raju,
Amelie paathirukeengala ?

Raju said...

Narayanan, illenga.. Are the storylines similar? I will try to watch it soon.. there in my list for long time..

Anonymous said...

It is a beautiful film that should be savoured. It irks me that such films are not appreciated by the audience these days. We rave about films like Geethanjali, but I doubt we would watch even that had it released these days.

I have seen reviews of people appreciating the film only after seeing the DVD. Had they given it a chance at theatre, instead of all the nonsense that most go see in the name of comedy, then we can be assured that the director would make more such films and that producers won't be scared to take chances.

One of the better films of recent times.

-kajan

Anonymous said...

Hey

You forgot to mention the comedy made by the dog. It was fabulous. If there is any reason for me to watch this movie again, it is that dog and its wonderful diologues, factual and hilarious.

Raju said...

Kajan, I thought this movie fared reasonably well in the box office.. Was I wrong? It is a pity if it didnt have a decent run..
I watched Geethanjali about 2 months back (again).. and I really loved it. Since movies like 'Kaadhal' worked, Geethanjali too might have..
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Sandeep, Welcome to my blog!!

Yeah.. I did forget the dog. Probably bcos I dont know telugu well and hence couldnt follow all that the dog was saying. Interesting character indeed.. I wish to watch it again with subtitles on..

J said...

heyy, hopped from http://conundrumofsonata.blogspot.com/....Nice blog you have..so organised!!!

Godavari is my FAV movie tooo :-) Good review! Kamalinee is awesome in this movie. And ya, you will enjoy the dog character dialogues if you know Telugu well...first naanum puriyaama kashtapaten..now I can understand...second time paatha kooda, movie fresh aa irukum..ryt?

If you get a chance, watch Kamalinee's another movie called "Anand"...its a big hit and songs are too good. bye!

J said...

Sadly, only a few group of ppl liked it in AP...avlo hit aagalai...hhmm

Raju said...

J, Welcome to my blog.. Thanks for ur words of praise.. :)

I watched the movie 2 1/2 times.. and I can surely watch it more, as u said..

As you can see, others too have recommended 'Anand'.. I keep forgetting to watch it.. Will do it soon..

Its a pity that it didnt become a deserving hit in AP..