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Thursday, February 3, 2011

Mini-reviews: part 6 (Sumanth edition)

Part 1 (Hindi/Tamil), Part 2 (Telugu), Part 3 (Prabhas), Ram, Part 4 (Telugu), Part 5 (NTR JR)



Sumanth is one guy who deserves more credit and shoutouts. He's good looking, a decent dancer, and an entertaining actor. But for some reason, he isn't getting as much love as other Telugu actors.

Before starting on this Sumanth mini-review version, I have already done full reviews on the following of his films -



Godavari (2006)

Sriram aka Ram (Sumath) is a kind-hearted guy who returned from the USA and wants to be politician. Although he has many great intentions, many people do not believe he can lead. Ever since they were kids, his heart has always been for only Raji (Neetu Chandra). However, Raji's father only wants her to be married off to a rich, powerful family. Now, Raji is engaged to an IPS Officer (Kamal Kamaraju). Seetha (Kamalinee Mukherjee) runs a designer store but her family wants her to settle down and get married. She refuses because she rather be an independent woman than bow down to a man. All the characters end up taking a trip on the Godavari River on a boat. Their adventures of love and friendship is bonded on the ship. Raji and her family goes on the trip and Ram only tags a long. Seetha ends up going to get away from her family's pressure of finding a groom. The heart broken Ram and stubborn Seetha start to hang out. Eventually, both start to fall for each other. Raji learns that her fiance is a selfish brat. Will Ram and Seetha end up together? Or will Ram and Raji finally end up together?

taken from my full review with screen caps, read full review and thoughts
Awesome film! Sekar Kammula is one of my favorite directors.



Madhumasam (2007)

Although Sanjay (Sumanth) has a good heart, he is logical and doesn't think with his heart and reasons with his head. He is known as a rowdy but Hamsa (Sneha) overlooks it all and sees him as a sweet person. She takes love to the fullest level and trusts everyone blindly sometimes. So in love with Sanjay, she proposes to him and he accepts. But he reveals to Hamsa that he does not love her but is marrying her because why not? She would be the perfect wife. Hamsa refuses to go through with the marriage. With Hamsa's absense, Sanjay starts to feel lonely and realizes he is in love with her. Reality hits Hamsa and she takes the hard truth that she trusts others too easily and that she is being taken advantage of, even from her family members. She starts to become independent. Will she become too independent and not accept Sanjay's love? Will Sanjay and Hamsa ever be together?

taken from my full review with screen caps, read full review and thoughts
Worth a watch, great performances!



Classmates (2007)

Classmates is about a 10-years reunion in the city of Warangal, to pay respect to a former classmate, Murali (Sharwanand). However, when the students all re-unite again, Ravi (Sumanth) is found strangled in his room. Did he tried to commit suicide? Or did someone tried to kill him? Did someone have a 10-years-old grudge on Ravi?

taken from my full review with screen caps, read full review and thoughts
I loved the film, a great thriller!



Since then, I bought several films of Sumanth on dvd. However, I never gotten around to watch them until recently. I plan to watch all his films.

He is definitely on my list of favorite actors. I've even bought many of his films on dvds blindly becaue I enjoy his screen presence. I've seen 9 out of 16 of his films already. Each of them, I enjoyed for different reasons.



Prema Katha (1999)

Suri (Sumanth) lives in the village with his parents. He's a carefree guy who has a good heart but is a lazy bum. Divya (Antara Mali) is a city girl who comes to the village to visit her uncle/aunt. Suri falls for Divya at first sight. After getting to know each other much better, he finds out that Divya is already engaged, not by choice, and comes from a wealthy, well-known family. Her very strict, stubborn brother, Sankaram (Manoj Bajpai), is furious about Divya's love for a poor guy and comes to the village to knock some sense into her and/or kill her love.



The film starts off with an elder woman telling the kids a story, a true story about her son. Prem Katha is another case of poor boy/rich girl. If you are sick and tired of these storylines of forbidden love because of status, stay away from the film. What makes the film work is the beautiful cinematography portraying the village.

It is both Sumanth and Antara's debut film. Both look young and refreshing. The star of the film goes to Manoj Bajpai! He has a subtle approach to his acting whether or not, he's playing a positive or negative role.



Yuvakudu (2000)

Siva (Sumanth) is raised by his widowed mother, Padmawati (Jayasudha). His father lost his life in the battlefield but hopes to follow in his steps one day. From Hyerabad to Ooty, he goes to visit his mother and sees the beautiful Sudha (Bhumika) who he starts to falling love and tells her about it. Even though she is the daughter of a wealthy man, Sudha is motherless and feels neglected. She happens to befriend Padmawati and looks at her as the mother who she never had. Siva proposes to Sudha but she rejects him but feels bad after finding out that he is the son of the lovely Padmawati.



I didn't want to give away too much of the storyline since there is more to it then what I have already mentioned. The beginning half of the film was wonderful, I love the romantic comedy. The second half wasn't too bad either but didn't flow with the rest of the film, to me. Sudha really started to annoy me but I loved Siva even more! Could someone explain to me why a married couple would sleep in separate rooms if they really love each other? It's the pride right there. I felt that Sudha loved Siva's mother, Padmawati, so much that the only reason why she agreed to the marriage is to be with her and not care for her husband.

Even though Yuvakudu came out in 2000, I saw Madhumasam first and it reminded me of each other. I preferred Madhumasam more though. What I did like about both films is the hero and heroine's arrogant love and it was because of the two of them, not someone who forbad their love.

The second half took a different turn with Siva finding out that his mother has kept a secret from him for a personal reason and why she did what she had to.

Overall, worth a watch but not the greatest.


Sathyam (2003)

Satyam (Sumanth) is one of the sweetest, most unselfish person you've ever met. However, he is always misunderstood by his father (Malladi Raghava) and the girl that he loves, Ankita (Genelia D'Souza). His love for writing landed him a job as a ghost writer where he writes lyrics for a popular film lyricist while he works as a taxi driver. Ankita is a dancer and the popular dancer partner is in love with her. Will Sathyam ever speak what's in his heart?



What an awesome, feel-good film! I have a soft spot for unselfish guys in films :D I do think Ankita was a bit annoying because she written Satyam off without getting to know him and jumped to conclusions. The love that Satyam had for Ankita was sweet. What bothered me the most was the pride of Satyam's father. He literally disowned Satyam for a misunderstanding but since Satyam is really sweet, he didn't mind it because he's just so loving and unselfish.

Both Sumanth and Genelia played the part very well. Genelia is a great actress and I adore her a lot but I want to see more range in her acting. She's been in several films that has her as a "dancer" but I cringe because I think she is definitely miscast for that type of character.

PS - Lawrence is in the film for a song, gosh, I looove him!!! Check him out in the "Kuch Kuch" song :D
Yes, I still have a huuuge crush on Lawrence.
A sweet cute film that is should be watched!



Gowri (2004)

Gowri (Sumanth) is a mechanic in Dhoolpet. He never fell in love before until he meets Swetha (Charmi) at a new years party. Both love each other but her father (Vizag Prasad) doesn't approve of their love becuase of Gowri's low status. Her father ask Sarkar (Atul Kulakarni), the fearful don, to separate Gowri and Swetha.



Gowri is a remake of the hit Tamil film, Thirumalai (Vijay, Jyothika) and seems to be an almost frame-to-frame remake -- only wish the Telugu version would have a dance number with Lawrence like the original Tamil version!

Sumanth is awesome. I love his character, Gowri - he is a sweet, kind guy who never knew what love is until he found it. He is true to himself and very honest. When he loves, he gives his all. Charmy is the perfect choice for Swetha! She has the sweet, innocent baby face with a sassy attitude. Atul was a treat to see and always a treat to watch. His character is black and white and does a great job.

Overall, the film is good and worth a watch.



Mahanandi (2005)

Swami (Srihari) loves his younger sister, Nandini (Anuksha Shetty) who he raised. Shankar (Sumanth) is an orphan and also raised by Swami, and becomes his bodyguard. Swami arranges his sister's marriage but she doesn't agree and convinces Shankar that she is in love with someone else and she will become unhappy. Shakar and Nandini go on a road trip to Mahanandi. Instead of meeting her "love," she confesses that she lied only to bring him close to her because she is in love with him. Shankar never wanted to disobey Swami and now caught in the middle of his loyalty to Swami or love for Nandini.



I loved the first half of the film but the second half fell flat for me. Having Nandini "forced" her love on Shankar really bothered me. I never saw him feel any kind of love for Nandini. Maybe he just needed to be away from Swami to see it? I don't think so. If he had any kind of feelings, it would've been portrayed but it never did.

Sumanth is perfect! He shows off his badass side. Most of the other films I've seen of him, he's the loverboy. Anuksha is adorable but is mainly there for the songs and a love interest. The film totally belonged to Srihari. I've always thought he was a good actor but loved him even more after this film.

Not a great film but watching for Srihari, Sumanth's badass, and Anuksha's beauty.



Pourudu (2008)

Ajay (Sumanth) is totally different from his father, Pandu (Suman). Although Pandu is a police officer, he is a crooked cop and fights with violence instead of his brain. He owes his life to Bhai (Nassar), the feared don in Hyderabad. Therefore, he oblige by Bhai's rules. Ajay is a smart guy and ranks the top of his class. However, many people doubt Ajay is that smart because they want to believe Ajay received his top honors by his father threatening someone. When a misunderstanding makes Ajay use strength instead of his head, he is forced to go the same path his father did.



My absolute favorite Sumanth film! It may be one of my all-time favorites. I loved everything about it -- the father/son bond, supporting girlfriend and her parents, fighting against corruption and evil...

After watching Pourudu, I was thinking why Sumanth doesn't get much love? He is definitely one of the most underrated actors!  He's versatile in his acting playing different characters. 

I was definitely sure Kajal's character is one of my faves ever! I love everything about her. She's strong minded and speaks her mind without being rude. She stands by her man and supports everything he does. Kajal usually annoys me with her eye rolling, I-don't-care attitude but not here!



I realized that I really like Sumanth and wanted to watch more of his films! I am looking forward to watch Golconda High School, which turned out to be a hit! I am excited to watch him paired with Swati :D

4 comments:

India Pictures said...

you’ve got great elements there and I do like how you encourage the readers to take the time to think.

World Forum said...

I really enjoyed reading this post. Keep up the good work.Thank you .

Gayathri said...

Hi, love your post on Sumanth. I don't watch much Telugu films thus I never knew of Sumanth until recently when I chanced upon his Golconda High School!Amazing film and Sumanth is such a sweetie! I'm currently looking for his other films to watch and your post has been a great guideline to his films. WIll definitely look out for Pourudu and Sathyam. I've tried watching Godavari in youtube but there's no subtitles and I'm having difficulties following it. Will try looking for a dvd with subtitles here.

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