100 Days
A millennial lens on Telugu cinema.
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100 Days
Athadu (2005)
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We're back! And this time we're diving into one of our favorites! Director Trivikram's sleek action comedy Athadu stars Mahesh Babu, Trisha, Prakash Raj, Nassar, and Sonu Sood. This cult classic also features music by Mani Sharma. (With special guest Evan.)
Hi, I'm Krishna.
SPEAKER_05And I'm Veena, and welcome to Hundred Days, a podcast about Telugu cinema.
SPEAKER_02Each episode, my sister and I revisit movies we grew up watching and see how they've aged.
SPEAKER_05This episode, we're taking a look at Ataru.
SPEAKER_02Ataru is a 2005 Telugu movie starring Mahesh Babu, Trisha, Prakash Raj, Sonusud, Nasser, and others.
SPEAKER_05This movie was directed by well-known director and writer Tirvikram Srinivas in his second movie as director.
SPEAKER_02After delivering the super hit Okaru, Mahesh Babu had a string of average films like Nijam, Nani, and Arjun. But Ataru was a huge comeback and became a quote classic in Telugu cinema.
SPEAKER_05It's known for his stylish cinematography and action sequences balanced with the classic family drama.
SPEAKER_02Now let's get to it.
SPEAKER_05Alright, so it's been a little bit since our last episode. Um, like two and a half years. So a lot has happened since then. Like, I got engaged. And today we have a very special guest on our show, my fiance, Evan.
SPEAKER_01Howdy, everybody. Um, this is my first time on here, so uh don't be too harsh on the criticism. I'll do my best. Thank you.
SPEAKER_05Yes. So, Evan, tell us a little bit about what you like about cinema and specifically like Telugu cinema. You've seen quite a few at this point.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, I like a lot of the more like stronger feels. I feel like Telugu Cinema plays things very straight, and that's what I really appreciate in these movies that I'm watching. And uh this one was no exception. I really enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and just for a little background, are you Indian or Telugu or how do you identify yourself?
SPEAKER_01Uh no, I'm just a typical American white man. Florida man. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05But yeah, Evan has seen like quite a few Telugu Indian movies at this point. Honestly, hit like the big South Indian languages, all of them at this point. Um, obviously Bollywood as well. But can you give us like maybe three Telugu movies that you really like so the audiences kind of know what your tastes are?
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, so I really like High Nana, I like Game Changer. I know a lot of people trash that movie, but it's I thought it was really fun. And um I'm trying to think of another one that I like. Um, I like Bahu Bully, obviously, and I like RRR. Those are great movies. Hell yeah.
SPEAKER_02Not Pendvi. By the way, we just saw Pendvi last night, and um less said about that movie the better.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Alright, so let's get to it. So um this movie starts off very like ominous, right? So it's raining, it's kind of dark.
SPEAKER_02It's like a little tea shop.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and in that tea shop there's some there's this kid, they're like, oh Nandu, get three special tea for like these uh just these random guys, and they're whoever like their boss or someone is apparently like waiting in the car, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and uh Nando goes and gives tea to uh the boss in the car, and wait a second, he has a gun in the back of his uh, you know, in the on up to his hip. He takes it out and he shoots the guy in the face and he runs away.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. And um right off the bat, the music is amazing.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I was I had a note of that too. It's crazy. Like the guitar. Yes, yes, so good.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Um, and then they go, and then um Nandu joins another group, right? He runs away, joins another group, and uh this group um led by Rahul Dave.
SPEAKER_02Uh his name, so in the movie's name is Sadu.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And uh yeah, he's like a leader of some sort of gang. They do kind of shady stuff, um, and we quickly get into like a bank robbery that they're about to uh, you know, do. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh to keep things in perspective, Nandu is very young at this point. He's like 10 or 11 years old. So he's a kid. Yeah, so he gets involved in like these gangs.
SPEAKER_05But I think what we were talking about, this is what makes it kind of believable is that they give him less dialogue. I think when they give kids like really long dialogues where they sound like adults, it's very unrealistic. But this gave us a glimpse that he had to grow up really fast without like he hasn't studied or anything, so he doesn't have like, you know, huge, like Yeah, they don't explain too much either.
SPEAKER_02I think it's like you kind of leave it to your imagination, but you can tell by his actions and the way he acts that hey, this kid grew up very fast, you know, he's like, you know.
SPEAKER_05Which is refreshing in a in a day and age when like over-explanation is what cinema is now.
SPEAKER_06Pretty much.
SPEAKER_05Um, but yeah, so they end up getting caught, right? Yeah. In the bank robbery, and then Nandu ends up like cutting off the power and he runs away, and he takes, you know, his boss.
SPEAKER_02You take his boss, and the boss is like, hey, the police uh SI superintendent is gonna chase us and we're we're gone. But he says, nope, I killed the police that's like.
SPEAKER_05Yep, and then we get our first song. And here in the first song, we get the title card. Um, I love Mahecha's intro, actually. Uh wanna talk about that.
SPEAKER_02Smoky green uh filter, yeah, really cool.
SPEAKER_05It's like extra, but like kind of simple too.
SPEAKER_02Like it's here, like you know, now I feel like with the heroism slow-mo, you know, not some of that, but a sprinkle of it, but and they're still there, like he's definitely a few scenes where he's in front of like a screen where like there's stuff happening in the background, but it's kind of meant to be the credits slash intro, so I give him a pass. Like, there's not too much of that, you know, in this movie, so that's kind of the one place where they have it. Um yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah, I really like the jump between like when it shows him as a kid and he's going out to be sort of like his own person. Um, it's has this like gritty, like low amount of string instruments that make it seem like he comes from like a really hard place he has to get his life together, kind of thing. And then when it shows him as adults, the music's a lot more complex and he's a lot more vibrant, so it shows that he's more well adapted as a man now at this point.
SPEAKER_02Wow, that's so deep. That was really good album. Honestly, the music, I think one thing that's really cool is like I feel like Manishar Mahu did the music, which we didn't actually uh mention.
SPEAKER_05Oh yeah, which I think this is his best album, like no skip.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, one of his best albums, best probably background scores ever done. But yeah, I feel like he had a really good uh vision, like lock with the director, and so like they yeah, as you said, I don't think some a lot of that stuff is like by accident. I feel like they definitely did that on purpose.
SPEAKER_05And during this song, we're also introduced to Sonusug, who is Malik, who is another kid he actually grew up with in um who was part of like that little gang that he was part of when he was younger. Um, and then it goes to um we're at a market.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so basically, yeah, you you kind of see the montage of them growing up, doing training. Basically, they're a duo, and they're at a market, and basically they're planning out this next thing that they're about to do.
SPEAKER_05Um Mahesh or Nandu is his name. Nandu ends up stabbing someone, and then he's running, and they both are running away, Nandu and Mudli, and then right there there's a huge wall, and then they basically like help each other get up the wall, which actually is a really cool scene, too. The way that um so nun so Mudli kind of lifts Nandu up. Yeah. Nandu then gets up, wraps his legs around like a pole that's up there, and then kind of extend his body. Which, if you think about it, this man is like six feet or plus tall. Yeah. So it kind of makes sense that he's like six feet down, he's able to kind of grab this other guy, and yeah. So I kind of thought that was like pretty cool, and not like too too not too hijinxy, you know.
SPEAKER_02I agree. And I think this movie generally like has a lot of really cool little logic elements where it's like, okay, that kind of makes sense, or that seems a little bit more practical. Like, of course, at the end of the day, it's an it's an action movie over the top, but I like that.
SPEAKER_05Um then we are cutting to like in a there's like a hotel, like um some kind of event is going on, and there's in a political event, and we're introduced to a few political figures.
SPEAKER_02Figures played by Shari Shinde, who plays Shivara D, and we have uh Cortasin Rosrao who plays Bhajira D.
SPEAKER_05Mm-hmm. And basically they are talking about you know different ways to get voters, and at the end of the day, they decide like basically Shiaji Shinde, what's his name again? Shivaradi.
SPEAKER_02Shivaradi says, Okay, let's if you guys pretend to shoot me, then I can become a CM because I get the sympathy vote.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so that's what they decide to do. And basically they say, Oh, there's this one guy here who's really good at these things.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05So so then yeah, they basically hire Nandu for this job.
SPEAKER_02So basically, yeah, hey, um Kota uh calls Nandu or and says, Hey, I want you to do this attachment attempt, but leave him alive. That's the whole thing. And you know, uh, here's the amount of money. They they do this little scene about the money exchange where Nandu doesn't want to actually show his face, so he secretly takes the money from the guy who's doing the exchange. But in the day he gets the money and he's all set up, ready to go on the day of the um attempt.
SPEAKER_05And they have the attempt right when he's about to like when Nandu's ready to shoot Bhaji, not Bhajaredi, Shivaredi. Um what happens, Evan?
SPEAKER_01Um Yeah, one thing I noted about the political rally is that they use the sign of a like a rising sun, which is like often associated with like um a populist movement of people. And uh Shivaredi brings this out as like he him and the people are one and the same. And uh one thing I noticed that is that he draws a saber and a s like a sword out, and that's usually a sign of rebellion. So uh in a way it's like a sign that like someone's gonna be betrayed at this moment. And um when he brings out the sword, uh what's the hero's name? Nandu. Nandu gets ready to shoot him and he aims for the chest, but before he shoots, uh Shiva is shot in the head before he even pulls the gun.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so someone shoots Shiva and and uh Nandu is like shocked and he doesn't always like what the heck. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So obviously the shot the shot is like traced to that building where Nandu is. So police officers start running to that building. Nandu's kind of stuck because he's like all the way up there. Yep. Um, and so then police are coming up, and then you then basically police are at the terrace where Nandu is, and Nandu's kind of standing at the edge of the terrace, right? And this officer's like, look, there's police officers down, there's police officers everywhere, you're surrounded. You either like jump and die, or you like, you know, come with me.
SPEAKER_02One thing I really liked is one, uh, we talked about this, we really like the actor. I forget who plays the cop, we can find that. Um, and also just the whole time, everything so far is shot so like stylishly like clean and like little like cuts here and there to make it make you feel really like the intensity of the moment. And so even this moment, he's like waiting, he's looking around, he's seeing this whole city underneath him, but he also sees a train about to start, and he sees a rope.
SPEAKER_05And he also wait, which is one thing that's important, is he sees that his escape car that he was supposed to go where Malli's supposed to be in, um, get like crashes into a fuel tank and it blows up, and so Malli's dead. So then he sees a train, and then right when the police officer counts down, you have three seconds one, two, and then he kicks up this rope, and then he like basically Spider-Man swings onto the police.
SPEAKER_02Into the train. Into the train. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. There's a fun scene when he goes into the train, there's like a random dude who's like, wait, where'd you come from? Yeah, the train is like pretty going pretty fast on the movie.
SPEAKER_05So then he goes on the train, and on the train he meets this really sweet, like nice, nice energy kind of guy. Yeah, a little naive.
SPEAKER_02He's eating fruits, he's like cut some fruit, and he's like, hey, take it, sir. Yeah. Um, and we are introduced to Parta Saradi, or also known as Pardu.
SPEAKER_05Aleas Pardu, at the same time.
SPEAKER_02Aleas Pardu. And uh, yeah, he's like, hey, I'm from this uh, you know, village or a city called Basalapuri. And uh yeah, I actually left home 12 years ago. By the way, this missing poster that you see right here that's actually about me. And um I I realized that hey, my family's been searching for me for 12 years, so um I decided to go back and and you know for a homecoming.
SPEAKER_01And then Yeah, so Pati's getting ready to go go to see his village, and as the train's going on, um the police come after Nadu and uh attempt to shoot him even like when he's in the train, but uh Partu gets in the way and he gets shot in the neck killing him.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so like a dead part that literally like falls on his chest. I actually love Mahesh Babu's expression there. Yeah. When like you see, like part that just falls on him and he's like, and he's like, holy shit.
SPEAKER_02The whole regret of is like, man, why did I I brought this kid this guy down too? Yeah, and uh yeah, you can tell in that moment um he's like, oh man, and he's like weighing all the decisions. His expressions in this movie are like really, really good. Like, one thing I would say about Mahesh Babu, Okodo, he did really well, Murari did well, but generally he never had a lot of range. Even in this one, I think it was a few movies after this where he really showed.
SPEAKER_05I do think Kaleja's the first movie, he shows a little actual range.
SPEAKER_02Well, yeah, yeah. But they all played to his strength, which is the quiet, stoic like dude uh who doesn't talk much, but has pretty good expressions, and he's able to like uh his eyes do a lot of acting. Yeah. Um also I have to mention that uh Badhu's played by Rajiv Kanakala. Oh, dude. So if you've known uh Telugu movies and then you might know this already. I don't think he knows this. Yeah, but literally, this guy is always in these movies, and his like his whole thing is he's there for like five, ten minutes is killed off. Yeah, like he's it's like a meme. It's like Sean Bean in like you know in like Hollywood. Uh and it's a meme, and that's just his job. He just gets in these movies, and literally, as soon as you see him in any movie, you're like, ah, he's gonna die.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Um, and then we're kind of flipped into a totally different literally flip, the camera flips uh upside down, and we're introduced to the heroine Trisha.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, she's putting uh Rangoli and Mukugu outside the house because she's like, Hey, Pardo's coming home. Yeah. My and the subtitle says fiance, but really it's her baba, her cousin.
SPEAKER_05But they don't want to say, they don't want American audiences to know that they're cousins. But anyways, um, we're introduced to Trisha, and then her dad and her uncle. It's kind of like a joint family, is what they call like this family, like big family lives together. Um, they're waiting for Pardhu. They know because uh Pardhu email um not emailed, sorry, telegrammed that he's coming home. He's coming home. So they're waiting for Pardhu. And then I think uh we get what I think is the best scene in the movie is Mahesh comes to the house, and the music, I think I'm gonna play the music right here because it's so good when he walks in, the gate, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's called I think it's called homecoming in the soundtrack.
SPEAKER_05Soundtrack.
SPEAKER_02Uh but yeah, it's really, really cool. I really like the how stylistically different it is from the scenes before. Yeah. It's almost like this movie has like two brains, right? It's like one of this is like stylish action movie, and this other part is this the familiar family, you know, drama comedy that you have. Totally. Um and yeah, he comes in, uh he sees this whole family.
SPEAKER_05Well, wait, no, I want to talk a little more of that specifically. Oh, sure. Because it's so good. Like this kid runs up to him. By the way, the kid is holding like a plague, like a toy gun, right? Yeah, which is He runs up to him, he stops, and he looks at him and he's like, Bardu? And then without even like hearing a response or anything, he like runs back to his family and says, Bardu's here.
SPEAKER_02And uh everyone is like really happy, he has a bunch of aunts. I think he has one main aunt, I think, which is his mom's sister. Uh, that um, you know, obviously, oh, one thing to say is uh Bardu is actually an orphan, his parents have passed away, uh, and so uh this droid family is where his home is, and uh yeah, everyone's really emotional seeing him. So before uh Nandu gets to say anything, they all assume he's Bardu and he doesn't say much, he just kind of keeps going along with it. And uh he also gets introduced to Nazr, who is his grandfather. And uh Nazr also, yeah, you know, talks about it, he gets really emotional. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And uh Well Nazar actually for at first doesn't um doesn't like it.
SPEAKER_02Doesn't want to talk, but he's still like processing and figuring it out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, one thing I liked about the grandfather meet Nadu for the first time was that the grandfather has a neck brace, so he can't even see like someone's full like body and all that. And when he sees Nadu, he doesn't know how tall he is, so he's not expecting to look up. And then when he tries to look up, he can't see Nadu's eyes. Uh this movie does a great job emphasizing eye contact and like how it looks into like the spirit of somebody. During the opening scene, you see like Nadu shooting a guy, and the first thing you see are his eyes rather than any other facial feature. So his eyes are like a key identifier, and uh the grandfather didn't even see his eyes until Nadu had to um get on his knees. Get on his knees, and then his grandfather could see who he was, but Nadu had to like get down to his level in a way.
SPEAKER_02I really like that, and I love how the how you said that, like, get down to his level, that's exactly what it is. It's uh it's such a cool scene, yeah. You're right. And it shows like the respect. He's like already he has this built-in respect to the grandfather, he doesn't know who he is. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And I think in India too, like it like bending down for somebody is like a sign of like, you know, you're you're saying this person, you respect them a lot, right? So the fact that part like Nandu, I guess everyone thinks he's Parthu, is doing that is like I think a huge deal.
SPEAKER_02We probably will say Parthu and Nandu interchangeably for like a little while.
SPEAKER_05Because the real Parthu's dead, so um, but yeah, then we get to a classic Puri like comedy scene.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, basically her sister is um about or close to getting married, they they are seeing some matches or not matches, but um an actual alliance, I guess, uh Pelichupulu. And so the Father family comes to see her, and Pooti is like upstairs or whatever, not like in the mix. And so uh Pardu is like uh looking at her and is like, Oh, why aren't you downstairs? And then she's like, Well, I'm too pretty. Like, if I go there, you know, I'm like uh Mercedes-Benz and my my sister's like an ambassador, which is like an old school like car. Uh, you know, most people want to buy the Benz. And and then Nandu is like this classic thing where he's like, Don't worry, you're not that pretty. Everyone wants ends up buying the ambassador, it's more reliable, blah blah blah.
SPEAKER_05So yeah, and so she gets all upset, goes down, has this really I mean it's a very like in-the-moment funny scene where she's just mad and like people are trying to figure out what she's trying to say and everything.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and then uh basically they all get offended that he says that she's not very pretty, and this whole little like funny scene, and then we get into the song Pilla Gali Alen.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I like how when they before we get into the song, um the one of the uncles is like, Oh, if it rains, I'm pretty. And he's like, Okay, I'll give you three suckets if it rains. They're like, Oh, that's not enough time, but then he counts down one, two, three, and it starts raining, and then she gets really happy about it and starts dancing, and then you have like the dance scene, which is a really good like music number.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that's a fun one. And you really just see the antics of the house and the family together, and you know, you see like Parthu or Nandu, like, you know, observing all this and just being a part of it, but also observing it and be like, wow, like is if you think about it, Nandu had like no family, like zero family uh since we've seen we have we don't even learn anything about Nandu's like past in terms of before what we see, right? So yeah, so it's just a very sweet, um, sweet song. And right after the song, we are taken to the CBI office.
SPEAKER_02And we're introduced to uh Anjine Pasad, or uh played by Prakash Raj, who is the assigned to this case. And he goes and sees um, I think uh Kvis Vanad, who is um, I believe uh some some leader. Yeah. And he gets information about the case and um is about to start it, and pretty much it for that scene.
SPEAKER_05Then we cut to Parthu's friends, Giri and Ramana. Um they see Parthu for the first time, also very comedic.
SPEAKER_02Ramana is Sunil. Yes, famous comedian.
SPEAKER_05Yes, yeah.
SPEAKER_01What do you like Sunil from? Oh, I liked him in this uh Bombodel.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, he's really funny in that one.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, so they end up getting coffee.
SPEAKER_02And yeah, and basically, um Ramana.
SPEAKER_05I feel like MS Narana, sorry, just like a little bit. It's pretty unnecessary in this.
SPEAKER_02It's unnecessary because he hears this thing out of context, like, oh, we shouldn't have done this kind of thing, and then I think he's like, Oh, I have to know, I have to know, and it's this weird thing, and he starts the story because basically um Ramana or Play by Tunil is like, hey, what we did with for uh we did to Shaker, I feel really bad. I can't believe we did that. And you learn that uh basically uh when uh they were younger, uh they had a friend named Shaker, uh, and all four of them were talking, and uh Pardu uh at the time uh basically bet Shaker to go to the cemetery at midnight and collect these lemons that they like scattered around. Uh and he went at like midnight, it was like you know, very windy and stuff, and his uh you know shirt gets caught by a tree, and immediately his like heart stops and he actually passes away and everyone gets mad and Pardo, that's the reason why Pardo actually ran away 12 years ago. He gets he's like um you know sad or scared about that, whatever, and he he runs away.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. And we learn like Shaker's family now. Um they're pretty poor, like the dad is a priest, and they and Shaker's sister um needs like some sort of surgery or operation, and um they don't have money for that, so they're really struggling right now. So Parthu is like, oh hey, let's go go to their house. So Parthu and Ramana go to um Shaker's family's house and you know sees the situation. And um there Parthu just pretends he doesn't tell them who you know he is at all.
SPEAKER_02They pretend that their like car uh broke down, they need some water and something, yeah.
SPEAKER_05And then while, you know By the way, if you guys hear any little noises, we are taking care of two furry friends today, so um that's just that. But yeah. Um and then while uh you know the priestess g went inside to get some water or whatnot, uh Pardu throws like some money in the relaxed into the bushes and uh
SPEAKER_02Basically, uh, you know, uh leaves the place. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I just wanted to add that like we probably didn't mention this, but uh part two got like half the money for his uh assassination attempts. So like uh what was it, 75 uh cores?
SPEAKER_06Lux.
SPEAKER_01Lux. Yeah, he got 75 lux, and he was gonna get the rest of 75, but then he had to escape from uh the police.
SPEAKER_02So I think they they fight about it and then they end up getting all of it, right? Remember? Oh, they didn't know. But he already but he puts that directly in the bank, uh, which is actually important as well to talk about. Um but yeah, I mean that is that is that's fair. He does have a lot of money, obviously. Um, but I did like one thing I liked about this is like I think um I feel like uh Nandu feels a lot of guilt for like uh being basically indirectly the cause of Parthu's death. So now he's like taking on this responsibility that Parto had of like hey going back and making reprimands. So now he's like, hey, this is my responsibility now because you know this is Parthu's. So I don't know. I like that he all the um things that he does are basically like he starts embodying Pardhu essentially and becoming him, becomes him basically.
SPEAKER_05Exactly. And I think the scene after this, like I remember Evan, you were surprised. Um so uh Ramana comes back, you know, to Parthu and they're just hanging out by a river, and Ramana's like, oh my god, like somebody said, like, you know, um Lord Ram and Hanuman like visited like Shaker's house, like um, and you know, they now they have the money for everything. Yep. And what does Partu tell?
SPEAKER_01He tells uh Ramana the whole thing where he says, like, I did all these, I I was killing a lot of people, I was trying an assassination attempt, but I didn't do it, and I ran away, and uh I'm actually nandu, I'm not uh Partu. So uh revealing something big. Yep.
SPEAKER_05And there's a really sweet dialogue where Ramana's like, you know, you told me and you trusted me with all this, like, how do you know I won't betray you? And then he was like, Well, Lord, you know, Hanuman never betrays Ram.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And this is actually like a huge meme right now. I don't know if you guys have seen people are like lip-syncing this like this uh this specific scene, and they're like, me when I tell my cousin like about like my love life, and he's like, I do not want to.
SPEAKER_02Well the way he says it's so sweet, it's like who else would Rom uh trust uh other than kind of thing, right? Something like that. Uh but yeah, right after that scene, we get back to Anjinea Pasad, who is doing the investigation, and you get kind of like every you get these like brick front trails, right? So like the next thing is hey, they're at this building and where Nandu was at about to shoot, and you realize there's a couple of things. One, the angle for the shot is wrong, so something's off there. And secondly, uh the police came here very quickly to this building. How did they know? How did they how how are they able to uh do that? So they're kind of pondering those little few things and um they're kind of just thinking.
SPEAKER_05Yep. And then we're back home and Puri is introducing her friends um to um Partu. And you know, this is one girl who like thinks like Partu's really cute and whatnot, so Puri's gets jealous, and so she starts like there's a very it's another classic comedy scene. I actually really like that there's two really two really big comedy scenes with where um the female is the lead of that scene. Because I don't think there's a lot of movies, especially in that time, where like female led comedy scenes. So like uh I think it was really cool that she's like folding clothes and she's like, Oh wow, like you want that chapati, but not this puri at home. And then like um and then she's like folding clothes, you know, talking, you know, smack, and then she's walk and then Parthu's there the whole time watching TV, and then she walks towards the door, and then Parthu like trips her. And she's like confused, she's like, Wait, what happened? And then she's like, wait, no, you you tripped me. And then he's like, What? No.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, how I'm gonna trip you, why don't you show me? Yeah, and obviously her she's short, so she's not able to actually reach that far. And the kicker at the end, she's like, Okay, she gives up. And the kicker at the end is that there's like a basketball that's even farther, and he's easily able to get it where he's sitting, so he's like, obviously, he's done it.
SPEAKER_05So, like a fun little little scene. I think they both have really good um chemistry, and so their little banter is pretty cute.
SPEAKER_02It's cute. I would say it's not related to the story at all, but I think there's a lot of things like this in this movie where like I feel if you take it at face value, you're like, oh, it's slowing down the story, it's actually like not adding to the overall plot. But I think because of the performances, because of the cast, because of the writing and the comedy, it makes it worth it.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, also it builds their relationship. Of course, right? Which I think is important too. Um, then we are cutting to the kids who live in the house, they are sneaking into the grandpa's room where there's a gun hanging. And so they steal the gun and they put marbles in it, and then the grandpa like s gets up and folds them and then run away and take all the marbles, and then um uh the grandpa's like coughing, so Nandu or Pardhu comes in and Pardo's like, and then um the grandpa tells Pardhu, like this gun, like um, it can when there's even a little like a stone or rock stuck in it, it back it fires back at the end.
SPEAKER_02And that's how your father passed away, and then your mom later on also passed away differently, but that's how his dad passed away.
SPEAKER_05And then they show that the kids had 10 marbles, but they're counting it after this, and they only have nine, so which is insinuating that the tenth one still I guess something important.
SPEAKER_02Uh and then we're introduced to a side story, I would say that I think the main purpose is like a couple things. One, they wanted to add a little bit of like some conflict or uh fight uh uh type of sequences in while this middle part, right, while he's with the family. And secondly, I guess just shows like what he's willing to do for the family. Yeah. But it is kind of unrelated to the story, but you introduce to Nairu, who's uh played by Tariqira Barani, and he's basically this like Gunda gangster guy who's trying to take over the uh grandpa's like family land, and he puts up all this fencing, and uh the grandpa goes and says, Hey, why are you doing this? Can you please not? And he's like, Oh no, F off, like I'm not gonna do this. And uh Nandu goes behind his back and basically um threatens them, and he fights, but it's like a very interesting fight where he's like kind of like not really fighting all the way, he shows like restraint and he kind of scares them off, and they um kind of are like, oh, they are like you know, flustered basically.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's really funny too, because they keep bringing up that they have paperwork signed, it's like we signed this, and it's like a just like you can't even tell how much paperwork there's so much paperwork, it's like no one's gonna look through all this kind of stuff. Exactly. Like, I got you signing this thing, like a terms to agreement thing. It's like, I was gonna read that, so uh Nandoo just gets out of the way, it's like physically like, hey, you stop ripping my my family off.
SPEAKER_05So and in classic Telugu cinema right after this, we're cut to like a flirt scene, like a pre-song scene between A romantic argument I wrote.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_05Romantic argument. I actually don't even remember exactly.
SPEAKER_02It's something about something, and then they accidentally get too close and accidentally kiss. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And then we're that's I don't think we need to expand on that. So we get to the next song, Nito Chapana. So this is a fun song.
SPEAKER_02Great song. I like uh it's the classic combination, SP Bhattarman and Chitra. Uh they have a lot, a lot of hits, and this is like a nice, like chill uh bike.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. And then um we're we're back to Anjana Prasad, who's the detective, Prakash Raj, and uh he is at a mortuary and he's looking at um the body and he sees Pardhu's body. Um and then basically they decide to find where this part where the well they said to go to Pardhu, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, because basically they're like, hey, this is where Pardhu was in the seat that Pardhu was sitting. This guy. This guy was found, but then I'm also hearing that Pardhu went back home somehow, so who's there? So he gets a little bit suspicious, so he goes to the house and wants to uh meet Pardoo, and also he's talking to his his his cop, you know, whatever uh um superintendents or whatever and saying, Hey, um, let's try to get his fingerprints maybe on the on the on the D lo uh down low.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so they only have one business card left, so he's like, Okay, we'll get the fingerprints on this.
SPEAKER_02We'll put some powder on it and it will put some fingerprints, and like right as um he says hi, uh, you know, I'm the I'm you know CBI inspector, he says hi, I'm Pardu. Uh and then uh Anjane Prasad is like, ah, I didn't you didn't realize you'd get caught so easily, huh? And then intermission. Yeah, pretty good intermission. Yeah, but I mean of course he's it's a double meaning dialogue. It just means like very generically, but yeah, it's um they ask him, you know, hey, why was someone sitting in your seat? And and then they're just getting like kind of um suspicious, but uh ultimately uh they said, Okay, whatever it is, you don't have to tell me now. You know, whenever something comes to your mind, give me a call. Uh and then Padlu is like, well, um, I don't have your number because earlier they showed the card, they got uh Padlu to hold it, but then they take the card back, because of course they have to take the card back for the fingerprint. Uh but Padlu is like, well, I need the card. He takes the card, they leave, and they're like, Oh man, I shakesu couldn't do this. And as they leave, he just blows on the card until he knows that they're trying to, you know, get him.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. What did you think about all that? I loved when um uh Bakash Raj hands the card up. He's like, Here's my card and he's like, says it, but he's like holding back, like, oh, why'd I do that? Kind of a thing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And all of his people like look at him.
SPEAKER_02He's like, What do you mean here's my card? Like, we literally need that. Yeah so um yeah, that that that's really cool. I mean again, Prakash Raj is classic.
SPEAKER_01Uh yeah. Yeah, I guess I'll start with the other part where they um they go to a village festival, and as they're going to it, it there's like this hijinks where um they like uh they want revenge on Nadu for who's who's again?
SPEAKER_02Nainu, the yeah, the the gangster who's trying to take the land.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they're at the temple. Yeah, yeah. They want revenge on Nadu.
SPEAKER_05We have Brahmaji, um the actor. He's uh basically tries to find Parthu to get revenge on Parthu like beating his dad up or beating his dad's people up. And then um at the end of it, obviously, Parthu fights everybody and he saves everybody, and um, but then you know, obviously Ruckus is caught, so when they get home, the grandpa's really mad. He's like, why did he act like a child and fight and everything? And you know, he gets mad at him, and then um after this scene, the um, you know, Parthu's kind of sad and whatnot, so the aunt is giving him food, but she sees like his hand is uh hurt from the fight, and then she starts feeding him like you know, with her hands and he starts like tearing up. He starts tearing up, which I think he does a really good job in this scene. And she's like very emotional.
SPEAKER_02And she's like, hey, you're obviously so homesick, why don't you ever come home earlier? And it's like I never knew how good it would be at home.
SPEAKER_05Wow, such a good, yeah. Um and then it just cuts to again like another scene clearly intended just for like a pre-song where like you know, the the um you know uh Puri's hanging out with her friend and she's like Puri uh the her friend's like, oh, you're never gonna like have you know make Parthu fall for you. Like he's from Gujarat, you know, North India. And you know, then Puri's like, oh, let's have a try North Indian style, and then she just comes in having a very simple churridar, and then just cuts to the next song, Chandamama.
SPEAKER_02And uh I I really like the doesn't he have a beanie in some of these sequences? Oh hell yeah, dude.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, oh no.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so it's a it's a fun song.
SPEAKER_05Um definitely like not the strongest of the song of them in the movie, but still pretty pretty above.
SPEAKER_02Probably the weakest, but still fun.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Um then we're introduced to Brumhan, then the comedian.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and he is like the son-in-law. Uh uh, so one of the ladies is like his uh uh her uh husband, basically.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and he like just like you know, little comedy scene right there with him coming in and he's a bit early, and they're like, Oh, like oh his wife is like, Oh, you said you're coming on like Saturday, but you're here on Friday, and then he's like drops the d like his water and he's like, Okay, I'll go sleep in the station and come back to fire.
SPEAKER_02He also says like a couple of things. He says, like, yeah, and like you know, if you know English, you would know like the really great saying, Knowledge is divine, you know? Knowledge is like wine, the more you drink, the stronger you are. And then Nandu's like, no, it just means divine, which is like it means great.
SPEAKER_05Um, and then there's another little mini scene with uh Pudi and Partu where like you know she says like these guys are making fun of her or like you know, get going after her, and then she's like, beat them up, and so instead of beating them up, he just like punches this brick wall and like it you know breaks.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and they and they get scared off and start running away. It's like a comedic scene where two of them have bikes and one's like running to keep up with them.
SPEAKER_02Um and then this is one of my favorite scenes with Brahman and then where he's like hit me up because all the kids like hitting his abs and they're like oh oh, and then uh of course Padu Nandu hits him uh like first like slowly, then afterwards hits him really hard, and he's like, Oh, he gets hurt, but then yeah, all that stuff.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I like how Brahman's always like just begging for a reaction, like he's trying to have mercy, like not just having trying to have mercy on him, like I don't want to hit you. He's like, No, hit me, man. And then like he's like, hit me harder next time, and then he actually hits him hard, and he's like squeeze. He has like a can of toothpaste because he's brushing his teeth, and he squeezed the can and all the toothpaste comes out. It's really funny.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, good stuff.
SPEAKER_02And then we're back to Anjinea's like office, yeah, and then the investigation, and he's like, One thing I felt like this is where I was like feeling like okay, we had since the interval, we had like the comedy scenes, we had that Naidu fight, we had Chandamama. I feel like this is where I was like, okay, I the investigation is like the real driver for the plot, and I felt like it could have been like a little bit more tighter, but again, you know, they had a clear balance they wanted to strike with this. But like the reason why I was saying this is because they're like, yeah, at the time, like they're all starting from the beginning, they're still at the beginning of the investigation, right? Where they're literally like at the same time he escaped, there's an accident. And I'm like, wouldn't you know that was one of the first things that you like, you know, investigate? But anyway, there's an accident that happened at the same time, and um, you know, they they go and investigate and they see that the road where like the patrol uh you know uh truck uh hits like you know Malli's car uh was actually a closed road. So somebody like it was a government closed road or something like that.
SPEAKER_05And they found out the same person who uh who rented out the car also rented out the truck.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and that's Mali, and they get this picture. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05So you're like, whoa, what's the printed picture? The classic scene in like the loo movies where like the picture's being printed, and then you see who it is. Um and then it cuts to another like funny quote unquote scene with Brahma and them slapstick little like you know, the screws on the bed.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, it was really funny. Yeah, he was like, Wanted to get revenge on Nadu and hit him in the stomach, so he unscrews all the bolts and like screws on the bed, and then he's like setting up this trap thing, like, as soon as Nadu gets on this bed, he'll hurt his hip or something. So he's like really excited for that to happen. But then as he's doing it, um, his wife comes in to check in on him, and the door hits him out of the window, and he falls over and like um eventually just falls to the ground. So he hurts himself. Yeah, so he hurts himself and then carry his body up and they're like, um, they're like, oh, we need to put him on the bed, and so they come into Nazi's room and he's they're like gonna put him on the bed, but the bed's all like messed up. So he's like, no, please, like he's he can't really squeak, tell him why. So then they put him on the bed and then he just holds his hands up and the bed collapses and falls again. It's a very good chance of karma there.
SPEAKER_05So Yup. Uh so yeah, and then we're again back to the you know um investigation where Anjana's trying to figure out um. Oh, this is where we find out this is where we find out it's the same peat person.
SPEAKER_02And that they're like, how is this possible? Blah blah blah. And then yeah, yeah. Then we have this really cute romantic scene between Pardu and it's kind of like there's a little every plot line has like has to have to get a little break, come back, take a little break, come back.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So yeah.
SPEAKER_05But I think this is like a really crucial scene for the couple. Um so they they basically are in two rooms with the door separating, and the door keeps opening, and you know, we only see the perspective of uh Pooty, where like she wants she has a crush on him, right? So she wants the door to keep opening. So she opens the windows, she's trying to get the wind in, and then um she like puts her like uh hair pin in the door to try to get it to open, and then it opens, and my and you know, Parthu's standing right there and and seeing her, and then she starts getting emotional, like, oh, you think I was just doing this for you? And then she's like, Do you even ever see me as a woman? Like, do you even like ever feel like complimenting me? Like all these things. Um, and then um then you know, Parthu says this really nice dialogue or set of dialogues about how like you know, he he never was taught to really love, and he doesn't really know what that is, so he's trying to figure this out. He's like, I'm a new person since I've come here, like I don't even know who I was, I was a different person then, and you know, because she says something about like I'm the same person, you know, then and now, like, and he's like, but I'm not, you know, I've changed. Basically saying, like, I've learned to love a little bit more, I've learned all these things, and and it ends with him saying, like, see, you were like trying to see why the door wasn't opening. I was waiting for when the door is going to open, and that's just the difference between me and you.
SPEAKER_02And then we get into uh a classic song, Aunu Ninjam.
SPEAKER_05Best song of the album.
SPEAKER_02And also like great uh lyric. I did I put it together, I was like, yeah, it literally means Aunu Nijam no one day naked jum. Like, yes, it's true. Uh I like you. I like you, right? So that's like literally what he Ladandu is saying, or Fakdu's saying to uh who is it's cute. Yeah. But yeah. What happens next? Uh let's see, after the song. This is when they uh their people try they're trying to sell off the land.
SPEAKER_01Oh, they're yeah, they're selling the yeah, they're selling the land, and as they're trying to sell the land, they're like, oh, we need ton, we need money to actually like um you know have the wedding. Yeah. And these guys come and they're trying to buy the land off of uh the grandfather, and um they're like trying to give him up for like a cheaper price, and Nandu doesn't like hearing that, so he like he's staring at the guy who's trying to buy the land.
SPEAKER_05Well, I think Nanda generally doesn't want to sell the land, right? So he's like just telling them to leave, and he's just like pointing, signaling to them to leave, and they're like, Oh, we need everyone's signature, including your grandson, and then like they show Nandu, and Nandu's like kind of pointing them, like, hey, leave. And then this family's like, Why did you do that? Because they they see that he obviously was acting weird. So his grandpa and the uncles are like, Why did you do that? Like, we need this money, and then later uh Parthu goes to his grandpa and is like, Look, I want to talk to you. Like, I you worked so hard for this land and everything. I don't want you to sell it. So here's 10 lakhs. He writes him a check, right?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and then uh grandpa asks, like, why are you doing all this? And he's like, You've already lost so much, and I don't want you to lose the land, too.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So and then we um we get the detective now, like Anjinaya, he finds um Ravel Dev, who's uh Sadhu, who is actually the uh, you know, where Malli and uh Nandu have grown up with, right? Like that Dawn gangster dude.
SPEAKER_05And Sadhu shares that, you know, he shows a pic um And he's in jail. Yeah, he's in jail. So Prakashar just character shows Sadhu like the picture of Sonusuth, and then Sadhu says, like, oh, this guy plans the escape. The other guy, Nandu, he plans the murder. And then this guy's like, okay, Nandu. And then he learns how much, you know, per murder, how much money he gets, and and then Anjinaya, the detective, is like, alright, let's let's get like search all the banks and see who has deposited one or two crores in like the last couple of years.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but whatever, but 15 days before the murder or something like that. Yeah. And then he's like, How are we gonna find this out? Like the the banks won't uh tell us, and then he says, Oh, just bride them, that's how things happen in India. Um, and uh yeah, and then uh right after that, the grandpa goes to cash in the check uh from Nandu and um get you know gets the check and all that stuff is fine. And literally right after the C Grand Inspector comes to the same bank and um you know finds out that hey this money was taken from the same account that we saw when Core was uh deposited by someone named Nando.
SPEAKER_05Yes, and uh he goes to the bank, and at the bank he also sees that missing poster of part who is missing. And then we're at the last song, Pelichina. So this is the song at the wedding.
SPEAKER_02Yep, and it's a classic song. Love it. Uh very fun. And you can kind of tell now this is like the big bang. I feel like a lot of movies have like they do like this big wedding or party song, like near the end. Uh and it's kind of like a party, you know, it's a celebration. But um, yeah, we're all everything's coming to a head. And um, you know, finally uh Andre Passad, the CBI inspector, calls uh the house and Nandu picks up, and he and you know, the cop is like uh Nandu, and then Nando's like yes, and he's like, Oh, this is the guy! And he goes against the. So good. Yeah, yeah. I love that, I love that. It's just like again, one of these like simple logical seeds where he just like makes sense and it just works.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like a classic like introduction, like everyone reacts to hearing their name somehow, so that was a really good trap.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, but yeah, but Kash Raj's character then goes to the event and tells him that tells the grandfather that his son, like his uh grandson's actually dead, and that Nandu is a killer that they're after to capture and all that. Tells them the whole story. It's uh pretty a lot to dump on the grandpa.
SPEAKER_02Grandpa who's like what 80 something and old and like like whatever, it's like yeah, tough.
SPEAKER_05No, that's a lot. And then basically this whole family learns about all of this, and uh Brahmanandam and Dharmal Pasaphaniam, like all these like you know, supporting actors, they start talking smack about you know they're like how can we have a stranger in our house? Oh my gosh, like Imagine if they came, if if the police came like just 10 minutes ago, like it would have been during the wedding, and it would have we had to like stop a wedding, this girl would have been a spinster her whole life, and then Ramana comes in, he's like, Yep, you know, you're right, he is the worst. You know, he's so bad that he gave this money for um Shaker's family to get the operation. He's so bad that he gave 10 lakhs to fund this wedding.
SPEAKER_02He's so bad that he made sure that the land wasn't even gone. So, like, if he's so bad, then like well, how can he be so bad, you know, basically?
SPEAKER_05And he's like, and he did all of this without wanting any merit when it wasn't even related, yeah. Exactly. And so uh, and then um the family, you know, is like, well, if he really is like that, like, then I bet he won't even like show up now. And then, of course, Parthu Nandu at this point walks in, and uh the grandpa talks to Nandu separately.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but Barthu confesses in front of everyone. He says, Hey, um, I actually came here to tell you when I first came, I took to tell you that Parthu passed away, but I couldn't get myself to say that when I saw how happy everyone was, yeah, and I had to just go along with this. Yes. Uh and uh the grandpa gets really mad, but takes him to the side to his room, and basically says, Hey, you helped us so much, no matter what happens through your actions, you are part of the.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, that was such an emotional scene. Really good. Really emotional scene. Because like, if I asked you questions, I would have asked you when you gave me when you're like a 25-year-old just giving me twin 10 lakhs. Like, that's wild, like to have that kind of money lying around. Like I would have asked then, but to me, like you are parthu.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I'm not gonna ask, I didn't ask then, I'm not gonna ask now. Take our family gun, go to war, go win, and come back if you won, and you know, your meats will have will want to have you, kind of thing.
SPEAKER_05And yeah, and he's like, and if and if you don't win, make sure that news doesn't come to me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I like that. So as um Nadu is going to confront um, where does he go first to confront? He goes to a church of some kind.
SPEAKER_02Well basically, yeah, I mean there's like a little bit of a chase, like he sees uh Parkasharaj like in the in the traffic uh lights or whatever, and then they like veer off and he loses them, and then he eventually gets to the church where Malli is like hiding.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, Malie.
SPEAKER_02And it's like a classic like John Woo style, like back in the day where like with the the birds and everything, and it's like you know, very, very like uh atmospheric. And yeah, and uh basically they have a showdown and they start like shooting.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so Malli is alive and and uh yeah, they um have a show.
SPEAKER_02Well, do we find out Well actually no, right after that, that's uh right before the scene, actually before the church scene, Nanduk um calls Bhajiradi and Bhajir Huskota, and Bhajiradi confesses everything, and basically he says, Hey Bhajiradi, like I recorded that time you told me to kill Shabaredi, so if you don't want that to leak, then you better tell me the freaking truth, right? And basically he says, Hey, um yes, I did talk to Mali afterwards, uh Sonusud, and I told him to kill him, to actually kill him, uh, instead. And then the end Nadu says, Oh, thank you for telling me this, that's great. Well, by the way, that cassette that I showed you, it's empty. I didn't record that date, but I am recording now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, it was crazy finding out that the escape guy was the Nadu's friend. I was actually the one that shot the uh political leader.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, yeah. That was a that was a really good reveal, I think.
SPEAKER_02It's a good reveal because I think um the funny thing is Sonusuth always plays bad guys in this time, but this was one thing where like in the beginning you're like, okay, maybe they're trying to do like a reverse trope. Like they don't, and he's always typecasted, so like when you first see it, you're like, yeah, maybe he's just the friend.
SPEAKER_05Also, he's like low-key, you forget about him. Yes. And I think that's what makes it really powerful too. Because you're gonna shoot this guy, you know.
SPEAKER_02The way they like show like him dying, quote unquote, yeah. That with the car, like, you don't really ask him any questions because the way they show it is just like very quick and you're just like on with the story. So yeah, but um that happens, and Maly is in uh in the church, and we have this big showdown, just shootout, and while they're shooting out, the cops also catch up to them, the shootout with the cops, not the CBI, but other cops, and they kind of overcome the cops, and finally it's just Malli vs. Nandu. Yeah. One-on-one couple fights with their pistols and stuff. Finally, Malik gets a hold of the grandpa's gun, is about to shoot him, point blank, uh, but then you see a little X-ray shot, there's actually marble inside, it there's it reverses the bullet, hits a Mali straight in the head, he passes, he dies immediately.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I really like the themes of Slayer Karma in this movie because I feel like it's uh very like kind of justice, the guy that does the escape actually did the murder, and like uh the gun that the grandfather gave that killed uh Pardu's parents actually come up and save him when he's about to get killed himself. Wow. That's a really good point.
SPEAKER_05I didn't even think about that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, it's it that's a really good point. It's basically like you're right, and it kind of ties into like how uh Pardu or Nandu basically uh uh made it made reprimands of like all the mistakes he'd made. So now he's karma is that he got you know he got saved by that gun that actually killed his dad. Yeah, so yeah, that's a really cool title. Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05Um yeah, and then after this, you see Nandu is um, you know, putting um part through. And then he gives a cassette to Prakashraj. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02He just comes in and he says, here's a real cassette. So now Prakashraj knows everything. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And then um, well then Prakash Raj goes to He goes to uh Shivaradi, uh sorry, he goes to Bhajiradi. Yeah. And uh you can see that Bhajiradi is with Shivaradi's son, who's like kind of trying to be some political leader, and so obviously he's very angry, the son that his dad died and stuff. He doesn't know that it's Bhajiradi. Uh and then in Bhajardi's office, uh Anj the CBI officer Prakash Raj is there and basically you know threatens to show it, not to the courts, because that's gonna take too long, and of course he can bribe everything, but what if I just show it to Sir Radi's son? He's young, he's he's hot-headed, he's gonna be pretty angry. Yep. Yeah. So um that happens, and as he's leaving the office, uh, what happens, Evan?
SPEAKER_01Uh he gets a g Baji gets his gun and shoots himself in the face, which is uh also another form of karma where he's like planning out this assassination he kills um senior ready, and then um Shiva ready is going once his his um father's killer dead, and Baji already kills himself.
SPEAKER_02So yeah. There has to be something about like how um all the deaths are like due to guns.
SPEAKER_05I think that was just at the time guns were just really in.
SPEAKER_02Well, and yeah, but there's not a lot of deaths. I mean that's again it kind of shows that this movie is a little bit ahead of its time, like a lot more gun violence, I feel like. Where it's like again, stylish and trying to be a little bit more Hollywood-esque. But anyway, last sprint of the f of the movie, or actually lasts like five minutes. Uh finally, uh, as you were saying, Nandu is at this water, he like is having a little monologue. Hey, thank you, Pardu. You've given me this life, you've given me this family. I couldn't even get you a cup of coffee because in the beginning he's about to find coffee, but he doesn't even do that. Um, so he kind of uh puts this little boat or like this uh lamp and into the water, and at that time um Anjine Pasad comes comes into the picture again.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and he's like, So we figured out everything, and you know, Bhajadi is dead and this and that, but we still can't figure out you know who this nandu guy is. So, anyways, Pardoo, what else is up? And you realize basically, yeah, he's like covering everything up. He's covering everything up. He's like, hey, go go to your go to your new family.
SPEAKER_02Any family, and then he has his that his grandpa's gun. He's like, I don't think we'll need this anymore.
SPEAKER_05I think Prakash Raj was such a perfect cast for this. Yeah. You want to talk a little bit more about that, Ivan?
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, I think uh Pakash Raj is always uh playing sort of like police detectives, and I really love his performance in this one where he's like a very casual but serious detective.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, is he said aura farming?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, where he plays he plays a lot of fatherly figures too, and uh, we know uh Pradeep doesn't really have a father, so Pakash Raj is kind of like his father figure that helps him out. Yeah, that's kind of true.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, one thing also I also liked uh how uh Nandu's like, you know, you're giving me all of this, the least I can do is not like soy your name. So I know basically saying I'm gonna come clean, I'm gonna stop doing all this crap. Yeah, uh, which is nice. And uh yeah, basically he as you said, he he uh Bagash Raj covers everything up, and uh you and then the whole movie you get these like um you know, these like you know in these thriller movies where you get like the typewriter messages at the bottom of green text. So the whole time it's like usually the setting of where something's happening or where we're at or what's about to happen.
SPEAKER_05But that's also pretty unique because they're like they don't really put a time time. Like at one time they're like um the clock's not working, and another time they're like tea time, you know, like they don't actually put the time exactly.
SPEAKER_02That's why in the in the interval it's break time. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05And then like the one part they're also like 20 minutes after the matinee show started of this movie. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's all like time, but not actual time.
SPEAKER_02But it's kind of like you can imagine doing an investigation, that's like that's how the notes they would have. Like if they're getting some first hand like eyewitness, they're like, yeah, 20 minutes after the show, this would happen, you know, like kind of stuff. Yeah, yeah. So um, but yeah, and then in this one it says Paddo Alias Nandu goes home. Like um, and uh yeah, that's that's Atarum.
SPEAKER_05That is Atard.
SPEAKER_02I um yeah, well I want to hear Evan's thing. I have a couple things to say about Krakash Raj as well, but Evan. Overall, what do you think were your thoughts?
SPEAKER_01Uh I really like the directing. It was super exciting to watch things get sort of like told. I felt like the director was very inspired, had a very clear creative vision for the movie. Uh a lot of great action scenes. One of my favorite shots was when um they're showing the political rally and it zooms out and we see uh Nandu's perspective on him and the sniper tower. I really loved that shot.
SPEAKER_02Great camera trick, because it's like no camera can probably zoom that much, but it made it so cool, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so I really liked um the camera work in this movie, especially like um another sc another scene I liked was when they're tracking down his like bank files and all that, and they made that scene exciting. You know, it seems like kind of like boring things, but it's actually pretty exciting when you work out the bank details of where to find Nandu. It led to like a satisfying we got this guy kind of a thing. So I really like the directing.
SPEAKER_02All that yeah, a lot of cool details. Um, yeah, I mean, I I guess I'll go real quick. I mean, yeah, I was I was saying I I I loved, you know, I love this movie. I think it's uh great, I feel like it's ahead of its time for sure. At the time, there's not a lot of movies that's this stylish that has a lot of like gun violence and like uh assassination and like it's not like you know, Gunda. There's some Gunda stuff, but it's not like the traditional like almost like it's funny because you have the Gundaism with like Naidu and stuff like that, but that seemed like petty stuff compared to like the real world stuff that Nandu is like dealing with, right? With like assassination attempts and stuff like that. So you kind of see the hierarchies of like villainy and crime, yeah. And like clearly this is like more polished and like kind of uh even more intense. Uh so that's kind of interesting.
SPEAKER_05And I think they did a really good job making it palatable to Telugu audiences by intersplicing, as one has said in the past, intersplicing it with the comedy and the romance and the romance and the you know the commercial elements. So like it has that new take on the action while having some of the commercial elements that the Lugu audiences are attracted to. Yes. Making it like, okay, hey, we're introducing this new kind of art, but you still have like Brahman on them, and you have grounding you in this other stuff. Something that that makes it a really like still feels like a commercial, like the Lugu movie at the end of it, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I felt like a lot of the aesthetics were very sort of like Western friendly. There's a lot of like callbacks to Matrixes and like the minority report. Oh yeah. And uh I really like all the callbacks to that, but I think what really gets to the telegraph audience is the the themes of karma and the way sort of like fate plays out, where for example you have a child soldier, uh, when he's coming back home, like the least dangerous part of his job probably since he was like on the run the entire time, he gets killed, kind of a thing. So there's a lot of like uh themes that telegraph audiences and indie nonsense in general will like about this movie with a Western aesthetic, it's a really fun time. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. And you know, as always, like like talk a little bit about how it's aged, and I'd say overall it aged pretty well.
SPEAKER_02It aged really well. I think it aged the best out of some of Nash Buffalo's movies.
SPEAKER_05I actually don't think there's a lot of sexism. I mean, yes, are there any like you know, prominent female characters? No. Do females really talk much?
SPEAKER_02No, but I mean I think Poori has a lot of screen time and does talk a lot, but she's definitely not core to the plot.
SPEAKER_05Yeah. Yeah. And like, you know, I I even generally, like, they don't say a lot or make a lot of jokes and stuff like that that are, you know, sexist. So I think um that makes this this movie age pretty well. Does not pass the backdole test, but you know, overall aged well. Like, you know, and we always ask, like, would we show our future kids this movie?
SPEAKER_02Oh, 100%. I think so. Yeah, I would show this more than Okaru. Okaru is. I don't think I'm gonna show my kids. Okaru is like not I think Okoro, it's funny because if you look at like the box office and stuff, Okaru was apparently a much a huge hit.
SPEAKER_06Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Uh and like I think that one had its own merits. Like it was a very fast, racy screenplay, and like things were happening, but it's still kind of a traditional um story of this like good versus evil kind of thing. This one is a little bit grey, right? Like, you know, he's not really a good guy per se, but his actions, you can tell he's like, you know, a a genuine person in some ways. Uh so anyway, very interesting. I feel like this age ages a lot better than that movie and some of the others. And yeah, I would definitely show show uh kids. Not kids. I would show my kids when they're yeah, when they're a little bit older. Um thing I wanted to uh say is just really interesting. Um Prakash Raj and uh uh Mahesh Babu, all the movies that they're in, like such an interesting dynamic, right? Because like uh I'm just thinking about Okaru, where he's Obu Radi and he's like the bad guy. And then Arjun. And in Arjun, he's uh he's like the I guess the father-in-law, his sister's father-in-law, and he's also the bad guy. And then in um uh Ataru, he's like this like police officer, kind of a villain, quote unquote, for Nandu at least. Um, but of course not that's not not actually like that. Pokeri, he's again a bad guy for uh Mahesh Babu.
SPEAKER_05Um Dukuru, he's the dad.
SPEAKER_02He's the dad of Dukuru, totally.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, and then all the way literally to Gunturukaram, where he's like the frickin' grandpa. Grandpa again.
SPEAKER_02Um he's uh in uh what is Hitama Bakitlo, he's the dad. Uh so yeah, it's really interesting, like the same actor. Um you've mentioned how like he's in everything, but he has like such a range. Like he can be a villain. He can be literally, he's supposed to be like the guy who wants to take his girl in like one movie, but in this movie he's like this a little bit senior officer or whatever. In another movie, he's his dad.
SPEAKER_05All within a span of like a few years, by the way. Like these are all like literally uh Arjun, Atardu, and Poki, right? Three movies row like in a row. Yeah. In those three movies, all Mahesh Babu and Prakash Raj is in all three of them, all distinct different characters. My shabba is kind of the same. Like Prakash Raj is like different in each one, like one is a villain, one is like this character, and then so I think like that's Prakash Raj is like I think I think if anyone deserves like an actual like documentary about their life and like their um you know their acting and stuff is Prakash Raj. Yeah, it's Prakash Raj because Prashraj. Also, he's a really cool person, he stands up for Palestine and everything, so he's really cool in that way too. So I think you know, Prakash Raj, I think he needs to be studied, and I really hope he gets that um in the future.
SPEAKER_02He gets a big uh he has a lot of things.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, we're huge Prakash Raj stands here.
SPEAKER_02I will say like some of the other since we're just talking about it, I like so I liked uh yeah, we talked about Thrisha, yeah. She doesn't have a big character, but she has good screen time, she has good chemistry. Um I really liked um Nasr. Naser is good. The grandpa. Uh it was before he started dubbing his own voice, so it's actually Espie Badas of Munyum who does his voice, which is like a little jarring at the beginning, but it works out really well. He's really good.
SPEAKER_05So the, which is his aunt, um she is really good as like the motherly role, as like part of who doesn't have a mom. So I think she's really good too. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But everyone else is really good, good supporting cast, great cast, great uh comedy, as you said, like inter splicing the the family drama in this like really high octane, you know, action thriller. Uh it works really well.
SPEAKER_05So that's yeah, as we wrap up Ataru, any last thoughts, my fiance, Ivan?
SPEAKER_01Uh not really. I just really like the sense of humor along with the action because uh like there are so many scenes that are super funny to me. I really liked um from Hanan. Yeah, from yeah, he's great, he's always funny, I always laugh at him. Like there was this one scene that happened too is when they're all trying to get Nadu and they come in one car because gas prices are so high, so they're all like crammed and like they've got like 15 guys in one vehicle as they're gonna be able to get a lot of people. A little bit of physical comedy. Yeah, I love the physical comedy.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's kind of like at that time if you had Brahman on them, you're obligated to give him at least like two, three scenes where he's the main comedic like uh actor. Because like that's that's who he was. Yeah, stature.
SPEAKER_05But yeah, I mean overall I thought it was great, and um, yeah, thank you for listening. If you've made it this far, um please follow us on Instagram at 100 Days Pod 100 D A Y S P O D. Um, and hopefully we can, you know, with schedules and everything, it's so hard to get, you know, Krishna and I to get together because this takes us like it's like a five, six hour commitment. So it's kind of hard to get us together and to do this, but we're hoping to at least do one more and hopefully not two and a half years.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Um, but yeah, thank you for listening. I know uh we do have consistently people randomly finding us and and downloading a podcast, so I really appreciate that. And if you've made it this far again, thank you so much for your time, and uh until next time, we'll see you.