Suhas earned good reputation with movies like ‘Color Photo’ and ‘Writer Padmabhushan’. His talented as an actor is immense and he arrived this weekend with an interesting movie titled ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’. The trailer suggested that there is strong content in the movie. With impressive promotions, the movie released under decent expectations. Let us see how it turned out.
Story:
Malli (Suhas) is a youngster who belong to the barber community in Ambajipata. His father runs a saloon in the village. Malli works in it along with being a member of a marriage band. His twin sister Padma (Saranya) is a teacher in the government school. Venkat (Nithin Prasanna) belongs to the upper community and he tortures the villagers by giving loans to them and getting huge interests. Venkat constantly harasses Padma. Venkat’s sister Lakshmi (Shivani Nagaram) falls in love with Malli. Knowing this, Venkat behaves inhumanly towards Padma. He even humiliates Malli who tries to retaliate. With their reputation going down the drain, Malli and Padma decide to do something. What do they do? What are its consequences? How do their lives turn after this? Answers to these questions form the rest of the story.
Analysis:
It is a challenging task to depict natural and grounded stories on the screen with good drama and emotions. Life is not as dramatic as the films. If you add more drama just for the sake of storytelling, the naturality goes missing. Finding a balance between drama and naturality is an art. Tamil directors have shown their expertise in finding that balance through films like ‘7/G Brundavan Colony’, ‘Premiste’ and others. Telugu directors too try to make these kinds of movies. Though it may not be a cult classic like the above-mentioned films, ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ succeeds in delivering beautiful, emotional and hard-hitting content. The natural emotions in a village, family bonds, cast discrimination and others are the components to this story. Without spoiling it by adding commercial elements, the director made an honest attempt in sticking to the story. This is what makes ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ special.
People usually expect the hero to be larger than life. When the villain insults the hero, the public expects him to give a strong counter whether it is a dialogue or a punch. But the hero in ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ is not that. He stays silent when the villain comes to his shop and gives him a warning. When his lover is being separated from him, he doesn’t beat everyone and take her away. He looks helpless most of the time. But his reaction is very strong when his self-respect takes a beating. The real hero in him wakes up and brings cheers from the viewers. ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ story is not created, it is taken from our surroundings. The realistic approach is the reason why the audience get connected to the movie. But there is no shortage of drama in this film.
The first half of ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ is mostly pleasant and enjoyable. Set in the backdrop of 2007, the greeting cards, love letters and coin boxes take you back in time. The nostalgic feeling hits you hard in some places. Hero and heroine meeting in his saloon shop are quite endearing and entertaining. The love song in between is enjoyable too. The establishment scene of villain indicates how the story is going to turn ahead. The first half ends with a hard-hitting episode. While the first half is good, the second half elevates the graph with compelling narration. The fight of the hero and his sister against injustice is quite interesting and it is not what you expected. The realistic way in which the hero gets an upper hand over the villain stands out. Hero’s sister giving a strong response to the villain will bring whistles in theatres. After such a high, ‘Ambajipeta..’ comes down a bit due to the sorrowful turn. But it picks up pace in the climax once again. The ending is also different from the regular movies. Overall, this film may not have a unique backdrop or story. But the way in which the director dealt with it is what makes it unique. It shows that such hard-hitting movies can be made in a gripping manner in the Telugu film industry too.
Performances:
We don’t see actors in Ambajipeta Marriage Band. All we see is the characters in the story. Every actor gets completely immersed in their roles. Suhas showcased his knack of picking good films till now and he succeeded once again with ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’. He doesn’t look like a regular hero but we fall in love with his acting instantly. He impresses the audience with his innocent acting once again. His performance during his last meet with the heroine will arrest you. But he needs to be careful as his roles are getting a bit repetitive now. Heroine Shivani Nagaram looks good onscreen. Her acting and expressions are amazing as well. She gave a natural performance but her character doesn’t have a lot of significance in the second half. Nithin Prasanna is fantastic as a villain. We instantly start searching on the internet about this actor after watching this movie. But the standout performance in the movie is delivered by Saranya. This film shows her caliber as an actress. She gets more significance than the hero and she hits it out of the park. People will remember her character for a long time. ‘Pushpa’ fame Jagadish is decent as hero’s friend. Goparaju Ramana made a mark within the short screen time. The rest of the actors are fine in their respective roles.
Technicians:
Despite having budget constraints, ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ makes a strong noise on the technical front. Sekhar Chandra’s songs bring a lot of energy. ‘Gumma’ song stands out. The title song is foot-tapping too. Sekhar scores big in terms of background score. Wajid’s camerawork captured the village atmosphere and natural locations in a beautiful manner. Art work is amazing too. The production values are adequate. Dheeraj Mogilineni showcased his taste once again. Writer-director Dushyanth Katikaneni leaves a strong impact with his first movie. Whether it is telling the story in a gripping fashion or presenting the scenes in a beautiful manner, Dushyanth’s brilliance was on full display. His dialogues worked big time at places. He showed expertise in bringing the required emotions. He has a bright future as a director.
Verdict: ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ – Makes A Huge Sound!