Janatha Garage Movie Review - Needs some repairs

Movie Name  :  Janatha Garage
Rating            :  2.75 / 5
Starring         :  NTR, Mohanlal, Samantha, Nithya Menen, Unni Mukund, Sai Kumar, Brahmaji, Benarjee, Ajay, Sitara, Devayani, Gunaji and others.
Story             :  Koratala Shiva 

Music             :  Devisri Prasad 

Cinematography : Thiru 
Editing            :  Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao
Fights             :  Anal Arasu

Art                  :  A.S. Prakash

Producer         :  Naveen Yerneni, Mohan (CVM), Y.Ravi Shankar

Screen play & Direction :  Koratala Shiva  
Date of Release  :  September, 2016

"Janatha Garage" is one movie which every film lover is eagerly waiting to be released since it was officially launched only because of the combination of NTR-Mohan Lal - Koratala Shiva. 

NTR has teamed up with hit Director KOratala Shiva for :"Janatha Garage"  after the success of "Nannaku Prematho".  The movie has created huge interest among the audience ever since it was announced and the interest hiked further with the casting of Malayalam super star MOhan Lal. 

The movie generated huge expectations as the trailers have become popular and Koratala Shiva is in top form.  It is one of the biggest movies of the season,  and it has hit screens both in Telugu and Malayalam.  Let us see how the film has fared and what is the story of the film.  

Story  :

Satyam ( Mohan lal ) establishes an auto garage in Hyderabad in early 1980's.  He is a good hearted man who always helps the needy.  Soon he becomes a leader in their locality.  All the people in neighbourhood approach him for help and he also "repairs" ( baskes up ) men who do wrong to the people.,  Very soon his garage turns into a grievance cell and he goes to any extent for justice. In this process, he loses his brother ( Rahman ).  Thereafter Rahman's son Anand ( NTR ) was shifted to Mumbai by his uncle for keeping him away from these gang wars.

After many years, Anand makes an entry as an environmental researcher who does not hesitate to go to any extent for protecting environment.  He comes to Hyderabad for a project and accidentally gets into scuffle with members of Janatha Garage.  He closes down the illegal quarry of Satyam's son Raghava ( Unni ).  Satyam invites him to join Janatha Garage as he was impressed by Anand's sincere approach. Satyam impressed by Anand's aggressive nature, asks him to take over the garage?  Why? What is the motive?  What changes have occured i Janatha Garage after entry of Anand?  Will Satyam and Anand know about their blood relation?  See Janatha Garage movie to know more!!

Performance of the artists  :

NTR has performed excellently in this movie.  He showed his maturity when he does the scene of Samantha leaving him.  

Mohan Lal is another great actor but does not have much scope for giving his excellent performance but his presence mesmerizes the audience.  Samantha and Nithya Menon are a waste in the movie.  The role of Sai Kumar is laughable.  The character of Ajay lacks proper depth and the villainity done by Unni and Sachin failed to give desired results.

Devayani has done well and Kajal Agarwal's item song comes at wrong time but she tried to spice up the screen with ample skin show.

Technical aspects of the movie  :

The movie has high technical values with best camera work by famous cinematographer.  Much of the film is shot at Janatha Garage set and even Mumbai set props are eye-catching.  The music of Devisri Prasad is OKay.  A few songs are good.  The editing is bad.  The fights are routine.  Dialogues are good but direction and narration is not good.

Some of the highlights of the movie are   ....

NTR’s performance
NTR and Mohanlal’s scenes
GHMC Episode
Some dialogues

And the drawbacks are c  

Dull first half
Heroines with no proper roles
Lack of emotional quotient
Weak Villain
Predictability
Lengthy runtime

Overall analysis of the movie  :

First things first, 'Janatha Garage' has its moments but audience will feel a bit disappointed with routine story & screenplay. Although 'Mirchi' & 'Srimanthudu' have age-old stories, Its the lively narration which made a huge difference. In the case of 'Janatha Garage', There are few shortcomings which could lower the impact. Terrific performances of NTR & Mohan Lal, Few Emotional Highs, Meaningful Dialogues, Rocking Music & Stunning Visuals are the positives of 'Janatha Garage'. On the flip side, The momentum keeps fluctuating and movie ends on a low note.

Koratala Siva takes a bit of time to get into the actual story and nothing much happens in the First Half. While NTR's characterization is unique, Director failed to make the most out of an actor of Mohan Lal's stature. Screen time of NTR is less in First Half & the romantic track isn't promising. There wasn't comic relief either. The first meeting of NTR-Mohan Lal in the pre-Interval is a treat to watch. Performances and Dialogues in this sequence were mesmerizing and sets the perfect tone for latter half. 

About 40 minutes in the Second Half takes the film to the next level. Particularly, The episode of Rajeev Kanakala. Both NTR & Koratala excelled here. However, Director failed to continue this emotional high thereafter and lost the track in the last half hour. 

It must be said that Villains couldn't match up to NTR & Mohan Lal. Still, Two Action Sequences elevating Heroism works in favor of the movie. The long-drawn Climax is a big let down. Overall, 'Janatha Garage' manages to be a Just OK film. 

Manamantha Movie Review - Beautiful and touching !!

Movie Name  :  Manamanthaa
Rating            :  3.00 / 5
Starring         :  Mohanlal, Gauthami, Viswant, RainaRao, Anisha, Nasser, Urvasi and others

Story              :  Chandrasekhar Yeleti 

Music             :  Mahesh Shankar
Cinematography : Rahul Shrivastav
Editing            :  G.V. Chandrasekhar
Producer         :  Sai Korrepati
Screen play & Direction :  Chandrasekhar Yeleti
Date of Release  :  August 5, 2016

Chandrasekhar Yeleti has created a mark of his own on the industry with his unique films such as "Aithe", "Anukokunda Oka Roju", "Okkadunnadu"  and "saahasam".  The audience expect something afresh every time  project of this sensible film maker hits the screens.  After a long gap of 3 years, Yeleti has arrived with "Manamantha" starring Mohal Lal, Gauthami, Viswanath and Rajna Rao in lead roles. 

Yeleti created a buzz by bringing Malayalam Super Star Mohan Lal to Tollywood to play a lead role in hiis movie "Manamantha".  The trailers also seems promising  Let us see what is the story of this movie..

Story  :

Sai Ram (Mohanlal) who works in a supermarket is always in need of money as kids are growing and expenses are increasing at home. He expects promotion at his job but sees a hurdle in the form of another assistant manager. Sai Ram’s a silly and greedy act to move further in his career puts him in a danger.

On the other hand, there is a small kid Mahitha (Raina) who is studying 7th standard develops bond with a poor child. Her eagerness to help this poor child get education at her school also lands her in trouble.

An intelligent college student Abhi (Viswant) gets distracted from studies when he falls for the charm of a beauty (Anisha Ambrose).

A middle class woman Gayathri (Gauthami) who is stuck in mundane life gets an opportunity to better her life with the chance encounter of her guru (Gollapudi). How these four individual stories end? What incidents connect them?

Performance of the artists :

Mohanlal, the seasoned actor of Malayalam industry, is pillar to the movie. He has given the best performance. Although his dialogue delivery in Telugu is not perfect, he has proved again why he is called one of the best actors in India. In the final emotional sequences we see the real actor in him.

Gauthami as middle class wife is perfect. Vishwant and child artiste Raina Rao have also played their roles well.

The small kid belonging to a poor household is so endearing with his performance. Vennela Kishore as a Teacher comes up with another fine act. 

Technical Aspects  of the movie :

Like in all Chandrasekhar Yeleti’s movies, “Manamantha” has high technical values. Cinematography is superb.

The movie has shown the other side of Hyderabad – middle-class lanes, not-so-posh areas realistically. Art work is first rate. The movie has one only one song but the overall background score is good. Sai Korrepati’s production values are top class.

Some of the high lights of the movie are 

Emotional  scenes
Mohanlal and Gauthami’s performance
Last emotional episode
Climax
Different narration

Drawback:
Slow pace
Lack of entertainment

Overall Analysis of the Movie :

“Manamantha” is a human drama with simple emotions and subtle sensibilities. It follows the journey of four people at different phases in their life. Four different and distinct stories, different paths are interlinked in the end with a neat twist. Though the twist is not hard to expect, it has actually enhanced the emotional buildup in the ending of the movie.

Director Chandrasekhar Yeleti who is known for making thrillers like “Aithey”, and “Anukokunda Oka Roju” has shown that he is also at ease directing movies with emotional content.

Stories about different people and all of them are getting linked in the end with one incident or situations is seen in films like “Chandamama Kathalu”, but Yeleti treads different path here.

The four people and four different stories are linked with a completely new twist, which is what the movie’s core emotion is all about. Like in “Drushyam”, the final episodes of the story leaves a lump in our throat.

Like most people in regular life, Mohanlal is shown here taking “hand loans” from colleagues, becoming selfish when an opportunity comes to become a manager from asst manager. This greediness lands him in a big trouble and when he comes to know the situation has gone out of hands, the way Mohanlal repents, and goes through emotional upheaval are presented beautifully.

Apart from Mohanlal’s thread, the other beautiful thread is of Raina Rao who played the role of a good-hearted kid who lands in trouble helping a poor kid. Raina and the poor kid both have played so naturally. Yeleti has shown his maturity and mark here in these sequences.

While Gauthami’s thread is interesting it has been stretched beyond a point and the talk about Saree’s etc are unwarranted. But one scene involving Gauthami is funny when she goes to Koti to save Rs 400 and ends up spending more than that from her purse. The typical middle-class situation is portrayed funnily.

The thread of Abhi (played Vishwanth) and his romance with Anisha Amrose gives you feel of déjà vu.

While the movie is laced with emotional scenes, all these are stored in the second half. The first half of the movie is not that convincing though it sets up the mood. On the downside, the film is excruciatingly slow.

Despite these minor flaws, “Manamantha” is one of the best made emotional dramas in the recent times in Tollywood. Director Chandrasekhar Yeleti has proved again that he is a director with a different approach.

All in all, watch the film for its emotional content, good and earnest scenes and superb performances from the lead actors.