'Eega' (Telugu)
Director: Rajamouli
Cast: Nani, Samantha, Sudeep
Somehow the fact that one director can make films like 'Magadheera' and 'Vikramarkudu' on the one side and can think of a script like 'Eega' on the other seems surprising. With filmmakers in Bollywood remaking scripts from down south, directors here are sure on a hunt for newer and better movie plots. But, may be the urge to bring in something novel, might have been the scoring point in Rajamouli’s 'Eega', to a certain extent. With a great combination of VFX and real crisp editing skills, the movie does fare well, but what it lacks is a proper structure.
The movie starts off with the introduction of the villain, Sudeep, a typical, rich, angry, arrogant businessman, trying to be the baddie and a woman-charmer. And parallel to this runs a love story with a refreshing pair, Bindu (Samantha) and Nani. The heroine as usual is this glamorous girl next door, who runs an NGO and does micro art, while Nani is a firecrackers trader. Just when the girl realises she is in love with the boy, the villain plays spoilsport, falls in love with Bindu at first sight and kills Nani.
And what happens to Nani after death?
No prizes for guessing. He reincarnates as an eega (Housefly) and comes back to take revenge. What! Sighs! The fly is cute, though and becomes the protagonist. It grabs more screenspace than Nani. What was taking the shape of a Masala Telugu movie, suddenly transforms into something closer to a silly animated movie for kids. With the very obvious scenes of the fly being almost run over by people walking or being blown away, the movie reminds you of scenes from 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'. The eega in a David vs Goliath battle finally manages to slay Sudeep.
Amidst all the drama, there are a few funny and frivolous scenes. First, for some weird reason the fly does work outs. Second, Samantha and the fly have conversations through a magnifying glass and go to to a Coffee Day together, where she asks the insect what does it want. Third, an aghori baba helping the villain kill the fly meets the same fate as the mythical Bhasmasura. Fourth, the fly is so powerful that it can scratch, “I will kill you” on a wind shield in 72 font, bold and Italics and finally, it also writes “nenu Nani” in Telugu on a dining table with the heroine’s tears! How touching!!
Sadly, Nani, the actor, has nothing much to do in the film and Samantha does the predictable. Sudeep shoulders the movie all through and is at his best. But 'Eega', the first of its kind in Tollywood, is visually appealing. The collective effort of the director, VFX team, editing department and the music director makes it a decent watch.
Background score by MM Keeravani is gripping.
Verdict: Watch out for flies around you. One of them might just be Nani!