One word is sufficient to describe Leader (2010) : Awesome ! Its intelligent movie making at its best. Decent acting from the entire cast, clever direction and editing. Music is a high point - the 'Maa Telugu Thalliki' song is one of the best this year. The last time i saw a telugu movie with this kind of screenplay was in the 90s.
Leader is like a whiff of fresh breeze to the telugu movie industry. If any of you out there are irritated at the kind of Indian movies that are made today, you will be pleasantly surprised with Leader. Its a director's show all the way. Shekhar Kammula's vision is extraordinary. The way he has built up the tension throughout the movie and his use of crispy dialogue to drive the idea home is commendable.
Given Andhra pradesh's political scenario today, Leader could not have come at a better time. The only downside to the movie is love affair that develops in the second half, kind of immature, but the rest of the movie and the expectation of the climax is enough to sustain the audience's attention throughout.
Underplay is completely absent in our movies, Rana Daggubati has made history with his portrayal. For an actor his age and given that this is his first full-length feature film, its amazing the way he has shown restraint and poise. The guy who plays an assistant to Rana in the film has done a wonderful job.
Most importantly, this movie gives hope to all the people of Andhra and India as well, that we can do away with money power and caste politics if we believed in ourselves, and if we have a Leader who can lead by example.
Hope the industry produces more good movies such as this. 8.5/10 !
