Movie: Eega aka Naan Ee
Director: S.S Rajamouli
Rating: ****
Tollywood has always been typecasted as an industry with clichéd storytelling, over-the-board presentation and star studded affair. However, few directors thankfully have taken the industry to greater heights with their films, and one such director is S.S Rajamouli. With consistency and something different in all his films, the director this time chose to narrate a revenge story with no factionists, swords or sickles but through the eyes of a housefly.
Based on the story of David and Goliath, where a small boy defeats a giant; Eega deals with the revenge story of the protagonist, who is rechristened in to a housefly after being killed by the villain. The fly won’t stop until he avenges his death.
The latest fad in the industry is that you don’t need superstars anymore to keep the audience intact; a small housefly can leave you in awe with some extraordinary computer generated brilliance. Everything’s about the film is plausible and Rajamouli further makes the experience one of the best of recent times. More importantly the film caters to all age group of the audience – from kids to adults.
Come to think of it it’s a simple story with superior storytelling ability that makes this film a blockbuster. The director chose a simple story for a very good reason – to shift the audiences’ focus on the fly from the minute he enters the scene. Transformation from Nani to fly is a wizardly handled affair. From the birth of the fly to the very last scene, Eega excels in almost all departments. There are few ‘this looks stupid’ moments but it really doesn’t matter when you’ve got everything else impeccably.
Rajamouli’s weakness is his ability to handle love/romance since Magadheera or even before that and you get to see the same in this film. The romance between Nani and Samantha is left hanging but that doesn’t stop him from stealing everybody’s attention with his intelligent storytelling. Besides storytelling, Rajamouli is blessed with a team of hardworking members who’ve come together to make this film a grand success. From M.M Keeravani’s music to Senthil Kumar’s cinematography which by the way is larger-than-life, Eega’s success solely doesn’t lie on Rajamouli’s shoulder but due to the dedicated team work.
Despite short screen presence, Nani fares well in his role and leaves a mark in everybody’s heart while Samantha slips in to the role of a ‘happy-go-lucky’ turned hapless type of girl perfectly. Sudeep, the baddie along with the fly was the show stealer. His anti-hero image with shades of sick attitude was simply brilliant and his timing for humor is equally entertaining.
‘Eega’ is a masterly executed film that definitely deserves a watch and some admiration for the effort the team has put in.