#VintageDirectors - Directors at their best

Every time a new Film-maker brings out the First movie, he brings out a new flavour, rather his/her own flavour to the current Cinema. This New sense of Cinema can be explosive and ahead of age or sometimes even be unique and catchy. Though the directors have often fallen prey to their very own Trick's of the Trade, it is best to revisit the starting point of this New Ageness or rather the starting point of "What they are in Cinema" - as they may not have made classics, but surely have made something more than entertainers.

Puri Jagannadh  -   Pokiri
                   

Pokiri is the story of an Under-cover Cop joining the lurking Mafia of the city, camouflaging into their crimes and once for all finish the empire (as a Cop) and clear the city of this dirt. This plot is quite common in Cinema and we also have movies fleshing out on these lines. But what Puri brings to this plot is his Perspective of a Protagonist – A Sleazy Bastard, but for a Cause.
Pokiri, for me, is a movie about perspective and its blatant truthfulness. We see the same plot but slightly from a Common Man’s side (in a way heroine’s side). We still aren’t acknowledged that Pandu is a Policeman and believe he is what he is shown as - a Slum Rag, Unemployed, Criminal and having a very broken Moral Compass. He even admits many times that he is a Sleazy Bastard and has nothing to do in life. We still take his side because at least he is the Hero of this movie and we have bought that fact and believe he is one. The movie released at the times when Hero’s manliness and goodwill were at its prime in Commercial Telugu Cinema. In a Nutshell, the Hero is God’s representative of Good.

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 Not only Pandu, but every negative character also has the oddball, uncompromising and Care(less)free attitude instilled like Police Inspector Pasupathi(my favourite), Ali Bhai, Guru and rest of the mafia associates. Puri designed his characters that way and has perfectly cast actors for them. It’s a peep or even a dip in the ruthless and corrupted society (again an important perspective). There is no space for Morality here where everyone is grey. It’s very honest and dishearteningly truthful with its portrayal which is perfectly executed.

The execution also includes Dialogues which are as bantered as possible. One of my favourite scenes is the Confrontation between Ins. Pasupathi and Pandu at the basketball court. Pokiri also touches many aspects – Self Protection, Media Vulnerability, Police’s Unprecedented but failing approach to nab the mobs(Shayaji Shinde as Police Commissioner). Puri Jagannath clearly doesn’t want the adore the world he has created, including his hero. But the sense of Rawness and Honesty in his storytelling and characters never etching out to be Cliched or Generic proves that Puri Jagannath has given a personal touch to the flick.  

Trivikram Srinivas – Athadu             

Athadu is about balance. A balance in Writing Emotion, Human Instinct and Escapism. More importantly, is a balance of 2 genres -  Crime Thriller and Family Drama. Trivikram perfectly blends these 2 genres to the extent that they smoothly flow into each.

This movie stayed in the audience for its slice of the portrayal of a Family, though the Family element is woven inside an overarching theme of Crime. This engulfing nature of one genre into another is evident from the screenplay and even the title of the movie as “Athadu”. If one remembers, the movie kicks off with a boy who fires a bullet – point-blank into a Gangster in the most unexpected time and the boy is the most unexpected person to kill him. He escapes, reaches Hyderabad and again joins another Criminal Gang- this time to rob a bank. The robbing ends up as a debacle and he kills a police officer and again escapes. This escapism keeps on repeating in the life this boy(until..) – A boy -  namely – “Athadu”- The title signifying the Protagonist’s anonymity. The movie could’ve started at any Juvenile crime he commits and the Inference wouldn’t have differed as the only thing known about this person is the words on the Stamp saying – "Most Wanted".

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Trivikram prepares the audience with his finesse in Dialogues along with its smoothly escalating plot which pierces itself into the 2nd Genre - a Family Drama – which signifies his 2nd chance, a chance to make peace with the lifeless cold and grim world. From here on both the storylines start paralleling and smoothly flow into each other with CBI Investigator Anjaneya Prasad (Prakash Raj) as the initiation in the Crime storyline. The movie finds balance in both the storylines in expressing what each has to until the big reveal. The big reveal becomes a breaking point for both the storylines and choice of poetically ending the Criminal Past(climax) to live happily ever after as Anjaneya Prasad says – “Go!” at the end,  gives an apt the conclusion to this story of a Stone Hearted criminal to know the value of Humane emotion, Family and doing something for our people.

 

Trivikram is known for his Dialogues and Quirky Punches, but this movie is a class apart in his Story-telling and Writing, with his words complimenting this Slice of Life – Crime Thriller duo plot and making it more than an entertaining movie. 

Shekhar Kammula – Godavari

Shekhar Kammula’s movies are always a universe of love, light-heartedness and glee. Where nothing can go severely wrong, Even if it does, the trajectory of debacles and then the solution to it always is filled generic and touching humane drama. Also, one of the strongest point in his Directorial ventures are the presence of Independent and Individualistic Female Protagonist.

Be it Rupa from Anand or Sita from the Godavari, the Female Protagonists are stung with Free-Spirited and Self-Sufficient frame of mind. Even choosing one of these 2 characters for the best characterization is equally difficult to Choosing Anand and Godavari as Kammula’s best movie, because both the movie equally engages and adore with their cosmos. As a matter of fact, both start off and propel from the Female Perspective. If Anand is smart writing and picture-perfect Direction, Godavari is smart auteurism with picture-perfect writing.

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What makes Godavari Special is its setting. The Godavari is a mix of familiar family, sentimental and turmoil stories travelling in a boat journey on the Godavari. It is how the journey neutralizes each storyline with others, for life. Each story can be interpreted broadly or even pinned down to each character.

 One ultimately is gifted with the life they were yearning for before they started the journey. It’s these circles of liberation, love and vitality that Kammula infuses in the Journey. The boat, River and the voyage represent the transformative journey of each one towards understanding the verve of living life fully. The rustic touch and scenic beauty with melodic songs perfectly fill the movie to flesh out on the tender human emotions.

Shekhar Kammula’s Godavari is a soothing movie made special with an excellent canvas of Boat Journey on which every character’s life gets painted with others to form a Big, Beautiful Picture of living life.