A tall lanky guy with his stretched long legs as his first shot on a 70mm screen - It was Avasarala's intro in TFI (Ashta Chamma). From that moment, those legs never had to take a step back and steadily the ingenious director Avarasala emerged. His directorial debut Oohalu Gusa Gusalade appealed to everyone and showcased his brilliance in wielding the megaphone. A successful artiste director, a rare breed to find in Tollywood.
JA - Avasarala's 2nd venture is a simple and sensible middle class bromance with ample witty situational comedy and deep emotional content. Nara Rohit and Naga Shourya as brothers are a treat to watch. Both play their roles to perfection. This is Rohit's best till date. Looks wise, he's still the Mr Namitha of Tollywood but he eases into his role so much that you end up noticing only Achyut Rama Rao on screen. Naga Shourya does an amazing job as the younger one. He has a great screen presence and delivers a majestic performance in both comic and emotional episodes. Regina looks bubbly in parts and does her bit. The other artistes mould well into the storyline. Music by Kalyan Ramana (he might have scored music for 10+ movies and changed his name for half of them) is good, 'Oka lalana' by Shankar Mahadevan had already topped the charts and will be in the loop for music lovers for the next few years.
Screenplay by Avasarala stands out. Not many know that has a diploma in screenplay from University of CA. He beautifully narrates without confusing the audience as the screenplay he chooses for the first few min is intricate. Also, Avasarala himself pens the dialogues, so you can expect gut busting one liners and he delivers. The only complaint I had was that the 2nd half was a tad slow. Avasarala needs to be appreciated for his effort to come up with different storylines in this clinched beaten to death world of Tollywood scripts and also kudos to Vaarahi for funding both his projects.
The intoxicating smell of earth when it's about to rain, the brush of early afternoon breeze along the sea coast, the zing of plain fried groundnuts, the sound of gushing waterfalls, the sight of fall colors in autumn and movies directed by Srinivas Avasarala share the same aura. A bit extravagant? Yep, maybe it is but a few more movies down the line and you'll agree for sure.
As the lights turn on and you slowly step out of the auditorium, you get the satisfaction of watching a good telugu movie. At last Bapu-Ramana, K Balachander have found their disciple.
