PREVIEW OF `MAKHI'

(P)REVIEW OF MAKHI (EEGA)

The much awaited Hindi dubbed version of Raja Mauli’s Telugu movie Eega (which was simultaneously released in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam about 4 months back) is releasing next week as `Makhi’.   

Lot of movies were made where actual or animated version of animals/birds/reptiles  (like elephant, cow, goat, Dog, Pig. rat, rabbit, snake, falcon  etc.) as the central character, but to imagine that someone could conceive and make a full length movie on an Eeega/Makhi (a House fly) is hard to believe.    But the highly talented and bold director Raja Mauli (backed by Suresh naidu – son of legendary and Guinness record holder for highest number of films produced Rama Naudi)  not only thought and took a bold step and pulled a fantastic and thoroughly entertaining movie which has all the ingredients of a commercial pot boiler viz., romance, rebirth/reincarnation, sentiments, emotions, actions/chases  and lastly but most importantly `revenge’ all centered around Makhi.    Being simple and down-to-earth, Raja Mouli in one of his recently interviews reveled that he got the idea of the movie while thinking of the irritation/inconvenience he used to face in his childhood on daily basis in the hands of Makhis while going out on to the fields/open areas in the morning to attend natural call.     As the saying goes `great ideas come on the shit pot only'.

Makhi has a very simple love story of an ordinary and non-flamboyant hero (cutely played by Nani) falling in love with heroine (Samantha), enter the villain (Sudeep) and without wasting much of footage the villain kills the hero for coming between him and the heroin and no one knows about it.   In a typical filmy fashion the hero incarnates to take revenge but here is the twist in the story - he reincarnates not as a human being but as a `Makhi’ .   From here starts the creativity of Raja Mauli.      The reincarnated Makhi makes a grand entry like a typical south india star (ala Rajni kant or Chiranjeevi), with a ground level Camera angle and huge sound effect.   From there the roller coaster starts.   He incorporated all important ingredients of humor (by the Makhi irritating first and then terrorizing  the villain), romance between Heroine and the Makhi, actions/stunts with Makhi involving in a highway bond-type car chases, dances (taking off dance moment of Jr. NTR Allu Arjun etc. – I don’t know in the Hindi version take off from which popular Hindi movies will be used) sentiments and emotions when Makhi get caught and ultimately make supreme sacrifice of its life (like an Amitabh in Sholay) but not before killing the villain.

Apart from the concept and direction of Raja Mauli, the special effects team  (Makuta Fx) is the real hero of this movie.   Make an out and out Animation movie may not be that difficult but to have real life characters and animated characters simultaneously is a big challenge.    First they made a very cute Makhi character so nicely and colourfully which helped in showing various shades of emotions with crystal clarity.    

Coming to acting department, Sudeep (Kannada actor, who also plays very good cricket in Celebrity Cricket League) did a fantastic job, whether it is cruelty or humour on being traumatized by the Makhi, his body language and acting was superb and his expression have enhanced and magnified the role and character of Makhi and helped in Makhi becoming the hero of the movie.    Again credit should go to Raja Mouli to conceive this idea of highlighting the character of a Makhi (with all the limitations) through the reactions of the villain.   Considering that at the time of shooting there is no Makhi character around (which has been put by animation experts later on ) and Sudeep has to imagine that the Makhi character is around and emote, his acting is  really praise worthy.    Right from the first encounter of Sudeep and Makhi when he locks himself in a steam box to road accident to the climax his acting was of highest order.   Samanta is gorgeous and her encounter with the hero first and Makhi later are pleasure to watch and Nani is very cute in his short and sweet role.     It has a very pleasing music scored by Keeravani (a top Telugu music director who scored music for `Criminal’ and many other Mahesh Bhatt hindi movies) Senthil Kumar should bag few awards for his excellent cinamatography

Coming back to Raja mouli, after a string of big budget and mega successful movies with all the leading and top Telugu heros (including the original of Rowdy Rathore), and the then highest Telugu recording breaking grosser MAGADHEERA, everyone might have thought that he will come up with another big budget movie with another leading hero (every top Telugu star queue up to be casted by him), he did make a big budget `Makhi’ (reported to be at a cost of Rs. 30 crores – more than 80% going into the special effects), but not with any big stars but with animated character of Makhi.   It  really requires great amount of courage and conviction.    One should also give big pat to the producer Suresh Naidu to pump in such huge amounts in such risky venture.    The entire Telugu film industry has rallied around Raja Mouli by participating in film promotional programmes and the South Indian audiences have not disappointed them with movie becoming a huge hit in all the 3 languages and raking big mullah for the producers.     In Hindi version Raja Mouli has already roped in Ajay Devgan and Kajol (also making the Makhi do  the Ajay Devgan stunt of standing on two horses from his yet to be released Son of Sardar).  

Like Rajnikant’s Rabot, this will be liked immensely by not only the kids but by all age-groups.   So go with your children and revisit your childhood.   You will be surprised to see such a neat, clean family entertainer after a very long time.   I can put this experimental movie in the same league as Pushpaka Vimanam/Pushpak (a full length movie without dialogues), Appu Raja (for its special effects and very special acting by Kamal Hassan as ordinary hero and a dwarf), Chachi 420 (kamal Hassain doing a full length female role), Dasavataram (Kamal essaying 10 diagonally different characters including a Chinese  American and a grand old lady) and the recently released Rabot (for its huge special effects)   

S. Prabhakar

7^th October, 2012

AN AMUSING EXPERIENCE IN `KHAJURAHO'

An amusing experience at Khajuraho

Last week I went to Khajuraho for the first time on an official tour.    In a small sleepy city our hotel is built on a huge land and looks very impressive but it has only 48 rooms and in peak season to take care of the corporate guests they made a VIP guest block also.      Though on tour I am allotted a suite in every hotel, in this hotel I was put in the VIP guest block which is very nicely made with all facilities.   When I checked-in I wondered why I was put there and was not impressed since it does not have a good view, being on the back side of the hotel.  

As I was getting late for my meeting, immediately I went to bathroom to take bath.    Unlike the rooms in star hotels, there was a bucket, plastic stool and a mug kept which was a great source of comfort, as in the absence of mug I always use the glass tumblers kept in a bathroom.      After finishing the bath when I tried to come out of the bathroom, I found the door locked from inside (which might have happened on my giving a push on the door after entering the bathroom.   Though such type of locks gets opened by turning around from inside but to my scare the lock got struck up and despite my best efforts of turning around lightly to begin with and hard later on in panic it did not get opened.      After struggling for more than 10 minutes, I realized that I cannot get out without being rescued.    Then I took a close look at the bathroom to see where from I can call for help and to my relief I realized that there was a window 90% of which was covered by a glass, an exhaust fitted to it and on the top there was an old fashion wooden window which was also heavily taped because of which it might not have been opened for a long time.  

So I went close to the window and shouted for about 10 minutes.   As the guest block was at the back of the hotel and it was in the morning hour there was no movement and nobody listened to my shout.  No phone was kept in the bathroom and I really cursed my luck that I did not carry my mobile to the bathroom which would have made things easy for calling for rescue.   Then I remembered my pulling back my daughters whenever I found them carrying their mobiles while going for bath to listen to songs stored in the mobile.

   

Then lot of movie scenes crossed my mind where heroine or even a child artist caught in any such situation breaks open the glass with consummate ease.   So I picked up the plastic bucket and banged on the glass.    Normally, we find in our life everything which are supposed to be very strong turn out to be fragile and break and here I wanted something to be fragile and break but it turned to be rock solid and unbreakable variety and my banging the bucket had no impact on the glass (as nothing else was there and I was not like our foolhardy heroes to break things with hand  and even in crisis I am quite conscious of the fact that `kahi josh mein hamara ded kiloka haath glass pe uthaliyato – phir kabhi uthane ka laayak nahi rahaga’).    The next challenge is to reach upto the window which is at a height and I could not reach with my short height.   To my little fortune the room had a plastic stool which would not have been there in a normal conventional hotel room.   I climbed on the stool and stretched to the full on my toes with great difficulty reached the small window and it took quite a time to take off the layers and layers of tape put around the window, after which the struggle started to push it open, luckily it was not nailed (as is done in many case especially in horror movies to restrict the entry of Bhoots).    After lot of struggle it got opened after bruising of my hand as a compliment and souvenir.   Even after opening of the door, I had to stretch fully on my toes so that a part of head is visible and my shout could be more audible.   After few minutes I found one house-keeping boy coming toward the guest block carrying my shirts which I gave for ironing – and I must admit I was never so delighted at the sight of a fellow human being.    

After spotting me, he raised an alarm and within minutes  4-6 people from housekeeping, engineering and maintenance departments  descended panicking since VP from Corporate office visiting the hotel for the first time got stuck up within minutes of arriving.     Though they swung into action, the ordeal has not ended soon.    As a matter of habit in the house, I put bolt from inside on the main door because of which they could not enter the room by using master key.    The window in the bathroom is too small for even a child to enter through that.    Luckily there was one last resort left, being a room on the ground floor, there were two huge window glasses in the room, the beads around them were removed and the entire glass was removed and someone entered the room and opened the main door to the room.    Despite their trying from outside also the lock did not get open and ultimately the entire penal has to be broke open to freed me to my and their relief.   After every one moved out of my room, I had to take bath again as I was sweating badly – this time with doors wide open.   I was confirmed by the GM that after this episode they put an intercom in the bathroom promptly.

Lessons learnt:

1.  Believe in the old saying `that everything happens for our good’.    Had I been put in the hotel instead of VIP guest block, I really wonder how I could have come out because they will not have windows and the plastic stool for sure, if the room doesn’t have an intercom, then .   

2.   It is after all not a bad idea to take mobile in the bathroom, even if I do not listen to music like my daughters.  (I am sure my daughters will be thrilled by this admission).    

`Khujaraho’ is very famous for the Shiv Mandir and the `poses’ on the temple walls.    But the only pose I will always remember whenever I remember Khajuraho is my standing on the stool fully stretched on the toes with towel rapped trying to reach the window to shout for help.  

It also pleasantly reminded me of my being locked up in the office the entire night in IBP as a penalty for napping for few minutes while studying for my CS exams sitting in my boss’s cabin.   That story in the next  posting

S. Prabhakar

6^th October, 2012