Monday, October 12, 2015

Movie - Rudrama Devi

Watched Rudrama Devi movie yesterday. Have been waiting for its release for too long, and it finally came. The main reason for watching this movie was to encourage these new age directors to step out of their comfort zone and make such movies that has some meaning and as such I give the director a double thumbs up. Another heartfelt appreciation to the main lead of the movie actress Anushka who has boldly adorned a manly attire for almost the entire movie. She has done so many diverse characters in recent cinema, that if I come to think of it, no actress has in the past 15 to 20 years and this definitely is another feather in her cap. The settings were quiet appealing but I wish the director did not go overboard with the graphics. A little artistic freedom is allowed but when doing a historic film the we should take care that the sites are believable.

The story is as you know it, Rudrama Devi is raised as prince Rudrama Deva, to protect the kakatiya empire from being under siege from the devarakonda Kings. None know of her true birth except her parents and the prime minister. Soon Rudradeva enters adolescence and when in company of his friend finds out that he is indeed a girl but on hearing his father and prime minister talk of the danger it poses to reveal the truth she decides to continue as a prince. In course she becomes a valiant warrior and true saviour of the people.

Though the cinematography was good the story lacked soul, it felt like pieces were cut and put together in haste, there is no flow in the story and sometimes it just felt like a history lesson. The love track is not very appealing and I felt it could have used a little bit of refinement. Introducing Allu Arjuna might have been a good idea in his mind but I really wish he did not yield to the pressure and make him look larger than life, to maintain Arjun's star status the director had to make some compromises and the result was that Gannareddy let Rudrama Devi have credit for the victory (though I can kill him in a whiff, I am letting Rudrama Devi do it because people should know that a woman is good enough, I helped her raise the walls by providing the funds, I raised the army to fight by her side it was all me me me). I can understand the need for glamour in films but I would have preferred instead of just mentioning the different silk sareees Andhra Pradesh was famous for the director used them in the film after all the queens wore sareees and half sareees in those days not aggravated cholis.

Though I have my qualms with a few aspects of the film as I do with almost all films, I definitely recommend you to watch the movie. The director has a story to tell and it is different from the rest of the pack you always watch. It's not always about love, there are other things in life like duty, honour, courage which are the pillars in Rudrama devi's life.


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