My review of 1:
It is well known that no psychological-suspense-thriller has succeeded in Telugu, especially any film with a star hero. So below is my analysis of the movie without any spoilers:
1. The hero's introduction as the rock star with the song "who are you" was awesome and makes the crowd wanting for more. The starting credits are also novel and goes with the mysterious theme of the movie.
2. The scene in which Mahesh finds out the phone number based on photos is just too good and the audience has applauded for it.
3. The interval scene creates a new feeling and is certainly a huge asset to the film.
4. When Nazar says: Here comes my golden rice, the shot was amazing, but the next scenes couldn't keep up the tempo as much as it could have been.
5. The climax felt a little stretched because of the boring sequences and not because of the length. When we think over it after the movie gets over, the lengthy climax indeed seems to be required to bring to the point what the hero is exploring for and to show his emotions in the end.
6. The background score is a plus point that goes with the mood of the film. DSP has shown that he can adapt to the requirements of a unique film like this which needs a different treatment.
As seen above, some sequences and elements were completely novel, fresh and deserved a huge applaud for the way they have been planned and set up. But all of those scenes couldn't create the cumulative effect that films like Pokiri and Athadu have created. Both those movies had suspense and twists and had some great scenes which connected well with the remaining part of the film and aided in their huge successes.
The movie is certainly an experiment that might go haywire because of the genre and the lack of punch expected from Mahesh's movies.
Technicalities:
One thing that anyone who feels that Tollywood needs to go on par with Hollywood: Its not just the technical department that needs to excel, but more importantly the way a movie is told and the storytelling ability of the directors that needs to improve. Technical stuff and the graphics will come later and they just compliment the content of a film. For example, Krrish3 has done a marvelous business not because of the graphics, but the content that it had for the audience. Same is the case with Dhoom3 which had a good content in the form of the brother sentiment portrayed by Aamir so well, and some actions scenes
which were well planned. The graphics just added the icing on top the cake in both the movies.1 nenokkadine is much more than just stunts and graphics, so when someone watches 1 nenokkadine, it needs to be watched with an open mind and not just whether it has spectacular graphics like Hollywood.
Need honest promotion:
When a film is promoted, it needs to keep in mind what will be the effect on the people's expectations. If it is promoted heavily by focusing only on action, and if the movie turns out to be a psychological thriller, the public wont be able to digest it. Same has happened to 1. It has been promoted as a complete entertainer during the festive season, which it is not.
Postscript:
Disco lights: For the first time in my life, I experienced special disco lights in a theater! Yes while the song "who are you" started in the movie, the theater turned on the disco lights in the ceiling to add to the excitement. Of course this may not be in all theaters but a good value addition nevertheless!
With love..
Anil
It is well known that no psychological-suspense-thriller has succeeded in Telugu, especially any film with a star hero. So below is my analysis of the movie without any spoilers:
1. The hero's introduction as the rock star with the song "who are you" was awesome and makes the crowd wanting for more. The starting credits are also novel and goes with the mysterious theme of the movie.
2. The scene in which Mahesh finds out the phone number based on photos is just too good and the audience has applauded for it.
3. The interval scene creates a new feeling and is certainly a huge asset to the film.
4. When Nazar says: Here comes my golden rice, the shot was amazing, but the next scenes couldn't keep up the tempo as much as it could have been.
5. The climax felt a little stretched because of the boring sequences and not because of the length. When we think over it after the movie gets over, the lengthy climax indeed seems to be required to bring to the point what the hero is exploring for and to show his emotions in the end.
6. The background score is a plus point that goes with the mood of the film. DSP has shown that he can adapt to the requirements of a unique film like this which needs a different treatment.
As seen above, some sequences and elements were completely novel, fresh and deserved a huge applaud for the way they have been planned and set up. But all of those scenes couldn't create the cumulative effect that films like Pokiri and Athadu have created. Both those movies had suspense and twists and had some great scenes which connected well with the remaining part of the film and aided in their huge successes.
Technicalities:
One thing that anyone who feels that Tollywood needs to go on par with Hollywood: Its not just the technical department that needs to excel, but more importantly the way a movie is told and the storytelling ability of the directors that needs to improve. Technical stuff and the graphics will come later and they just compliment the content of a film. For example, Krrish3 has done a marvelous business not because of the graphics, but the content that it had for the audience. Same is the case with Dhoom3 which had a good content in the form of the brother sentiment portrayed by Aamir so well, and some actions scenes
which were well planned. The graphics just added the icing on top the cake in both the movies.1 nenokkadine is much more than just stunts and graphics, so when someone watches 1 nenokkadine, it needs to be watched with an open mind and not just whether it has spectacular graphics like Hollywood.
Need honest promotion:
When a film is promoted, it needs to keep in mind what will be the effect on the people's expectations. If it is promoted heavily by focusing only on action, and if the movie turns out to be a psychological thriller, the public wont be able to digest it. Same has happened to 1. It has been promoted as a complete entertainer during the festive season, which it is not.
Final words: 1 may not be the regular masala film and it does not have the commercial elements to make it a success, but it is a path breaker movie that will be remembered in the future. I had the same feeling after watching Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises as well as Inception.
Disco lights: For the first time in my life, I experienced special disco lights in a theater! Yes while the song "who are you" started in the movie, the theater turned on the disco lights in the ceiling to add to the excitement. Of course this may not be in all theaters but a good value addition nevertheless!
