Archive for January 29th, 2010

29
Jan

MAYABAZAR in Color – Movie Review: 4.75 / 5

   Posted by: admin    in Movies, Telugu Content

All the great actors come to life again

Before reading a detailed MAYA BAZAR movie review, go through some facts about this classic:

Original Film Release Date: March 27, 1957

New (Color) Film Release: Jan 30, 2010

Story, Screen-play, Lyrics & Dialogues: Pingali Nagendra Rao (KV Reddy & Aarudra partly)

Direction: KV Reddy

Producers: Nagi Reddy & Chakrapani

Photography: Marcus Bartley

Choreography: Gopinath & Pasumarti Krishnamurty

Editors: Bhaktavatsalam & Jambhulingam

Art: Gokhale & Kaladhar

Playback: Ghantasala, Susheela, Madhavapeddhi, Leela, Vasantha Kumari & Jikki

Music: Ghantasala (3 songs were composed by S Rajeswara Rao)

Cast: NTR, ANR, SVR, Savithri, Gummadi, Relangi, Allu, Ramana Reddy, Suryakantham, CSR, Nagabhushanam & Balakrishna (comedian)

Creative Director (for Re-Storation project): C. Jaganmohan

INTRO: I’ve watched the original black & white Mayabazar some 2 decades back (198o’s) and the way the film has left a strong mark on my memory can’t be expressed. Be it the special effects, grandeur, star cast, songs, settings or poems – everything from start to end are so memorable. The news of restoring the classic itself was so refreshing. But I was super skeptical about the outcome!

ANALYSIS: As the name of the film suggests – it’s really a magic all the way (in color). The colorization was an eye-feast and the sound effects were so good and neat. Though there was a dramatic improvisation in the instruments used and the orchestra, the songs came out so well. You’ve to be in the theater to believe the positive energy the film creates with its new look.

Resizing the film to fit our cinema scope screens is not a small feat and the restoration team (at Goldstone technologies) have to compromise a lot on the screen space. Still, the feel and beauty was never lost and Bartley’s cinematography is at it’s best.

HIGHLIGHTS: Savithri‘s terrific performance as Sashirekha is simply amazing. The way she enacts SVR’s body language is a feast to watch. SVR as Ghatotkacha will surely impress us. His dialogues, comedy timing and screen presence were commendable. ANR has given a controlled performance as Abhimanyu. Relangi as Laxmana Kumara is hillarious. Allu Ramalingayya, Vanga & Balakrishna’s comedy episodes were really sarcastic and funny. Last but not least: NTR as lord Krishna will surely imprint the God’s charm on us. The way he smiles and delivers expressions with eyes is superb and soothing. I miss him a lot! Few episodes were more than a treat to watch after colorization:

  • Journey episode of Abhimanyu with his mother Subadhra
  • Intro scene of Ghatotkacha
  • Laahiri laahiro lo song in a boat on a full-moon night!
  • ‘Jaya Satya Sankalpa’ poem in the climax

PITFALLS: Sound restoration is not consistent (might be problem with original sound track or the theater). And, due to the damaged negative, Goldstone was not able to include the full versions of few songs like: “Bhali Bhali devaa..”, “Dhayacheyandi….”, “Vinnaava yasodhamma..”, etc. And, they should have avoided including some DTS sounds for transition effects (from one scene to another scene).

NOTE: The characters of Hindu mythology comes into life with greatest actors playing them. Watching Mayabazar in Color is a more satisfying experience than watching any other recent movie on the day of it’s release! Technology used at it’s best and more films should be on their way (depends on us – TELUGU AUDIENCE – to accept it with both the hands)

*** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED & MUST WATCH ***

Kudos to the whole re-storation, colorization and sound-improvisation team at Goldstone Technologies for this brave and wonderful attempt. And lastly, BIG THANKS to Super Good Films’ team for bringing the COLOR MAYABAZAR into theaters!

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