Finally after a long time a Telugu movie that I can recommend without any hesitation. It has everything going for it and it is all the more commendable since it does not have any big stars in it, no formulaic story of love, running around the trees, etc. The main them of the movie is revenge and it sticks to that right to the very end. Still a great time at the movies, but be cautioned it is scary in a couple of places so not sure about the fainthearted here.
Coming to the story, Anushka is getting married to Deepak and there are celebrations galore all around. A couple from her relatives is visiting Gadwal, her old ancestral property and village where Anushka’s ancestors ruled and on the way the couple meet with an accident and visit an old fort to seek help, but wait there is evil locked up in this old and derelict fort that is looking to get out. That evil is Sonu Sood, rather who has turned into an evil spirit and has wowed revenge on Anushka and her entire family. Moving back a few generations into the past we learn that Gadwal is ruled by Arundhati’s (Anushka again) father who has another elder daughter who is married to Pasupathi (Sonu Sood), who is a hardcore womanizer who goes about philandering the entire village. Unable to bear the torture and humiliation young Anushka’s elder sister commits suicide and this enrages the young princess Anushka no end and she takes is upon herself to punish Sonu Sood for all his sins. She gives the order to have him flogged, beaten mercilessly and killed, but a mistake is made when Sonu Sood is left for dead, but does not die. He is saved by a group of tantrics and nurtured back to health by them. Sonu Sood stays with them and learns black magic from them and once proficient in the black magic arts comes back to Gadwal to take revenge on Anushka, her family and her kingdom. Anushka though a warrior princes is still no match for the black magic powers that Sonu Sood now possesses, but yet she manages to defeat him by impaling him under a chandelier and cutting off his tongue so that he cannot speak out the magic or use his hands to work any magic. She does intend to kill him right then and there but is warned not to as that would set the evil spirits within Sonu Sood free and that would be even worse for all concerned. Anushka then has Sonu Sood buried alive and a cemetery built around him while he is alive (yeah I know shades of The Mummy). Anyways in this way the evil Sonu Sood is imprisoned, but not dead and is looking to be set free from his prison so that he can have his revenge on Anushka and her family. Years later, rather several generations down the line, a girl in born into the Royal Family of Gadwal, Anushka again and her marriage is settled with Deepak. By a turn of events taking place she is lured to Gadwal and to her old derelict ancestral fort where also the evil Sonu Sood is set free. How Anushka destroys the evil Sonu Sood and this time around permanently forms the rest of the story. She is helped in her quest by Sayaji Shinde who plays a fakir.
The special FX in the movie take the movie and movie making in Tollywood to a whole new realm, they are that fabulous. The story is another strong point of Arundhati, it sticks to the main storyline, does not deviate at all and all characters and their performances are woven together around the story to gel with it. In fact there is no comedy track as such in this movie which does indeed speak a lot. Performances are uniformly good all around, but special mention must be made of Anushka, Sonu Sood and the young Arundhati. Anushka has come a long way from playing the glam doll and she really shines through in this movie especially in the role of Queen Arundhati a fearless warrior who takes it upon herself to rule with justice and compassion and to destroy evil when there are no male members in her family who can do it. Sonu Sood is just brilliant as the womanizer and later on as the evil tantric out for revenge. But overall as I said the special FX is the real star in Arundhati, just way above anything else we have seen in Indian movies till date. All in all Arundhati is a must watch and a very good time at the movies, though not necessarily for the faint or weak hearted.
Hi Rajiv,
Is it also dubbed to other langs? If so, I will take a look at it…
Thanks for the review… Looks like a major graphics and special effects venture
We have had some great Telugu movie themes in the past – like Sankarabharanam. After that, I guess Chiranjeevi-Nagarjuna-Venkatesh kind of movies took over
Good to see that a movie that is not star-studded is getting some attention.
How life has been otherwise? How's the recession treating Hyderabad ?
Hi Ajith,
The movie is good and yet majorly different from the run of the mill stuff. Do catch up on it if you can. Life is good. Just got back from a holiday to Vizag, a gift for the wife for Valentine's Day you can say. How have you been? I do follow your blog regularly.
Hi Rajiv,
Just doing fine… Been busy with the competition and stuff now slowing down a bit. Worklife is uncertain as well with no clear project plans available… Recession woes!
I too frequent your blog and am trying to pitch in wherever I seem to have a point
gread
It's must watch movie really dude. I saw it twice and still wanted to
Ditto here! Even I've seen it twice and wanted to catch it once more… Really a great movie and a wonderful time at the movies with this one.
An excellent movie fulfilling all the roles like screen play, acting, graphics. Anuksha has proved that she has potential to act too. Now it makes feel that it is the fault of earlier directors for not utilizing her properly. She has the capability to play such a nice anchor role. She should have shown better expressions rather than staying bit dumb in the places were the villan screams that he will enjoy her (he says it atleast 100times in the whole movie). I am a Tamil, and am vexed seeing all crap Vijay's dumbstuck movies. Welldone!!!
I Think this dubbed to Tamil.
Yes, it has been dubbed in Tamil as well. Not surprising since many Tamil movies are dubbed into Telugu and vice versa.