Baava (Telugu)

Starring: Siddharth, Pranitha, Rajendra Prasad
Directed by Rambabu
Rating: **

he lush green paddy fields and swaying palm trees of West Godavari form the backdrop of several Telugu films. In Baava, cinematographer Aravind Krishna who captures this beautifully is the only hero, for everyone else is just pottering around. Siddharth, playing the carefree country lover Veerababu, perhaps picked this movie to foot his Diwali shopping bill? Newcomer Pranitha (Varalakshmi) wears an inky-eyed expression of concentration but the director is just not on her side or anybody else’s. Why else would he use the Ringa Ringa number from Arya 2 to introduce his heroine? Probably because his music director Chakri’s cacophonic tunes left him in cold sweat. And did Siddharth have to sing one of the songs? Show off in your bathroom, Sid.

The baava-maradalu (first cousins) romance is the carbohydrate of the Telugu movie menu, but viewers are left begging for avvakai (pickle). Scenes borrowed from various other films like Varudu are thrown into the tasteless broth. The cycle race climax lifted from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar would leave Aamir Khan sobbing. The lovers discover their parents are related but an old family feud casts a shadow. Also in the storyline is a temple dispute between two villages which renders Sita on one side and Lord Ram on the other. Fourteen years on, it is Veerababu and Varlakshmi who use Sita’s mangalsutra to good effect and unite the deities. Senior actor Rajendra Prasad is the only character who grabs eyeballs. But the best part of the film was my tomato popcorn.