‘Prince’ narrates a thief’s race for survival

Adrenaline pumping action, cutting edge technology and with three actresses wooing him, Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi is all set to make a grand comeback as the solo lead in action film “Prince” releasing Friday.

Made at a budget of over Rs.40 crore (Rs.400 million) by producer Kumar Taurani, the two-hour-six-minute venture boasts of action sequences exceeding an hour. It is releasing with over 1,000 prints worldwide.

Directed by debutant Kooki V. Gulati, “Prince” stars Nandana Sen, Aruna Shields and Neeru Singh as the female lead. Sanjay Kapoor and Dalip Tahil also star in the movie.

“‘Prince…’ is my first action film and will showcase me in a new avatar. It’s a story that could be every man’s fantasy and every man’s nightmare,” Vivek had said.

Shot across South Africa, Thailand and India, “Prince” narrates the story of a quick-witted thief who wakes up one morning to realise that he has a gunshot on his arm and has absolutely no clue about how he got it because he has lost his memory and that his life is at stake.

In his quest to find answers he discovers his name is Prince, he used to work for a man named Sarang and that his girlfriend’s name is Maya.

He is being hunted by the secret service of India I Grip, the CBI and the biggest white collared criminals in the world.

He realises that he is the most wanted man in the country because only he knows the whereabouts of a heist, which contains a secret that is linked not only to his memory loss but something that also threatens the future of the human race.

Prince tries relying on his razor sharp instincts to salvage himself, as the web of deception spins and he gets more entangled, as everyday he meets a new girl who claims to be Maya, he doesn’t know which side of the law he is on and above all he has only six days to live.

Vivek lost 12 kilos for the film and had to undergo about five months of rigorous physical training that included skate-boarding, stunt biking, cable training, martial arts, kicks and punches practice.

The 33-year-old has also jumped from a 32-storied building to a 28-storied one in the film and that too on a bike.

Earlier, titled “Prince of thieves” and “Prince – It’s showtime”, the film has also been in the news for intimate scenes filmed on Vivek with his actresses. Noteworthy is that “Prince” is also releasing simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu, apart from Hindi.

Despite that April is low on Bollywood big releases thanks to the ongoing Indian Premiere League (IPL), producer Taurani is undeterred.

“According to my report, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has not had the same craze this year as it had enjoyed in the last two seasons,” Taurani had told IANS.

“Our film is coming in the middle of the series… The IPL craze is at its peak in the first two weeks and during finals so there will be a dull period in between when we will release our film… We are going big time,” he added.

Also releasing Friday are romantic comedy “Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai” and Rahul Bose starrer “The Japanese Wife”.

“My first preference is to Tollywood”

Samantha who has debuted in the Telugu film industry with ‘Ye Maya Chesave’ had become the hot favorite not only to the youngsters but also to many tollywood heroes. The actress had also grabbed many fans in kollywood too with this flick. Recently there is a buzz that the kollywood heroes such as Simbu and Vijay were looking for Samantha for their next films.

However, Samantha says that her first preference is for tollywood only since the actress had earlier debuted in a Tamil film but she did not receive much recognition over there and so Samantha has decided to give her first choice to tollywood as tollywood has brought her the stardom.

‘Varudu’ an average fare – Movie Review

Cast: Allu Arjun, Bhanu Sri Mehra, Arya, Ashish Vidyarthi, Nasser, Suhasini Maniratnam, Singeetham Sreenivasarao and others;

Producer: Danaiah; Director: Gunashekhar; Composer:Manisharma; Camera:R.D.Rajashekhar;

 

Allu Arjun starrer “Varudu” created a lot of hype before its release mainly because of the huge budget, sets and also because director Gunashekhar kept the identity of the heroine under wraps. He unveiled it just a few days before the release.

Added to these elements that contributed to the hype, the crew associated with the film like the director, composer Mani Sharma, cinematographer Rajashekhar and editor Anthony had a very good track record. But despite a strong line up of artists and technicians, “Varudu” ends up as an average fare.

It seems Gunashekhar hasn’t got over the hangover of the success of his previous film “Athadu” with Mahesh Babu. There are many incidents and sequences in “Varudu” that will remind you of “Athadu”. For instance, the kidnapping of the heroine.

Though Gunashekhar has written his story around a fresh idea about five-day traditional marriage that has lot of native features in it, he failed to execute it effectively. As a result first half of the film drags and bores. Rest of the film comes to life in a few sequences, but again Gunashekhar falters in his narration.

The film has less of comedy.

So much money has been spent on the film, but its a waste because you come out of the theatre disappointed, thanks to Gunashekhar’s sketchy narration. However, he has shot the songs impressively, particularly “Bahusha Chenchala”.

Allu Arjun, who is very good in action and dance sequences, has less to do. His dialogue delivery needs to be improved.

The major highlight of the film is Tamil actor Arya’s performance. It’s courageous on his part to accept a negative character in a Telugu film. He usually plays lead roles in Tamil films, but handled villain’s role quite efficiently in “Varudu”.

Another highlight is the graphics and re-recording work. Chiranjeevi’s voiceover in the beginning may cheer some of his fans, but later the film bores.

The story revolves around Sandeep. He belongs to a rich and modern family, but wants his marriage to be performed in a traditional manner. Sandeep wants his life partner to be chosen by his parents. He also says that he does not want to see his wife before the wedding.

Sandeep’s marriage is fixed with Deepthi. But she is kidnapped by a local don Diwakar on her wedding day. Sandeep rescues her from the clutches of the villain.

Newcomer Bhanu Mehra lacks the screen presence to impress the audience. In short, she makes a disappointing debut. Nasser, Suhasini Maniratnam, Ashish Vidyarthi and Singeetham are good.

Rajashekhar’s camera work is impressive. Manisharma has composed two catchy tunes and awesome background music. Art work is top class.

Overall, “Varudu” is just an average fare.

varudu movie release on Mar 31st

Direction: Gunasekhar, Production: DVV Danayya, Cast: Allu Arjun and others, Music: Mani Sharma, Banner:Universal Media, Rating: 3/5

The Dynamic director Guna Sekhar is coming back in Tollywood after four years with the movie Varudu. The film with a wafer thin story is produced by D V V Danayya. Bhanushri Mehra is the Movie Varudu heroine. With Bhanu mehra, Varudu movie star Cast is Allu Arjun, Arya, Sayaji Shinde, Ashish, Nazer and others. The Varudu rating is 3/5.

Allu Arjun is playing the role of Sandeep. He is a very nice Guy and the only son of his parents. He is modern but very conventional in his viewpoint mainly about his wedding. Sandeep wants to be married on the lines of Seetha Ramula Kalyanam, stretching for sixteen days, including a marriage ceremony of 5 days.

He tunes his strangely romantic emotions not to chance upon the face of his bride till the last minute. Deepthi (Bhanu Mehra) is his heartthrob. She too responds the gesture and takes decision that she will not see the face of her groom till the marriage.

Finally they met in mandap but Diwakar (Arya) kidnaps the bride. The next shot forms the crux of the love story.

The movie is for family audiences who want dose of unpretentious masala mix. The hero becomes fighting machine in the second half of the movie. Bhanushree Mehra with her earthy looks is new new comer and but gave adequate performance.

Tamil hero Arya is good as the bad guy and he enjoys the villain roles. The interesting part of the movie is the climax fight and the wedding scenes. Music by Mani Sharma are hummable.