Seu Crime, Seu Sofrimento

I saw this film at the Imagine (SF/horror/fantasy) film festival 2013 in Amsterdam. A lot of impossible things happen in this film, but the context is clear from the opening scene on, where we hear a persistent daughter asking her father to tell a bedtime story. It sets the tone for what follows: a fairy tale, with good and bad people, the good ones win in the end, the bad ones await what is coming for them, etcetera. The voices of father and daughter re-appear in the ending scene, to remind us that this was indeed a "Once upon a time" story from the start. Maybe the heads up is not really redundant, while all sort of things happen during the 2 hours in between.

Basically, we see a proverbial David and Goliath story: a David-like (Nani) figure is killed by the Goliath-figure (Sudeep), all in the struggle for a woman (Bindu). But Nani reincarnates as a fly and makes it his business to haunt and annoy Sudeep at first, later on followed by real attempts to kill him. It is beautifully visualized, with a lot of animation where a fly is neatly integrated in the picture.

In the first half hour (before the fly makes its/his appearance) I had the impression that the main characters were portrayed a bit over the top. Especially the bad guy (Sudeep), who usually gets any beautiful woman he wants, has to let go of Bindu who has set her eyes on neighbor Nani. Nani follows Bindu everywhere, but she waits 2 years before responding to his courting.

When collecting funds for a school support project, Bindu is received by Sudeep who writes a cheque on first sight in favor of her charity, but also insists she has lunch with him. This is where the trouble starts. Bindu is apparently distracted when seeing Nani nearby during lunch, being an unusual experience for Sudeep. He "solves" this problem by killing Nani in a dark alley. Nani reincarnates as a fly, at which moment the animation kicks in.

That is also the moment that the fairy tale atmosphere starts. Nani is determined to get his revenge. We see many impossible things happen during his actions. I'm not sure about some of them being physically possible for a fly, like carrying a needle many times its own weight. And the ominous writing on Sundeep's windshield looks also improbable. But who cares, since it fits the story line AND we can expect this in a fairy tale where the good win and the bad loose in the end, by whatever means available at the time.

All in all, in spite of the simplistic story that one could have derived from the synopsis, the plot is worked out beautifully. The subsequent attempts of the fly to deal with Sundeep, are various and creative. At first, the fly works alone. Later on he finds a way to communicate with Bindu, and they start working together. But even then, many killing attempts fail. As a result, we get many opportunities to admire how the animation and the "real" characters work together. We also become aware that a fly lives a very dangerous life, feeling very vulnerable and defenseless against people who think flies are a menace to mankind. However, this special fly survives it all, of course inherent to a fairy tale that is designed to let the good ones win. The festival visitors (all 18+) gave this film an 8.07 score for the audience award, demonstrating that this movie is also interesting enough for adults.

Elements like the below are an icing on the cake : 1. Eega doing its best to prevent Sudeep from getting intimate with Bindu.

2. Eega's teasing gestures to Sudeep, which is funny and also lends an aura of heroism around the fly.

3. Eega's song where it challenges Sudeep is not only well-placed but also an integral part of the film.

4. The character of Bindu being made a part of Eega's plot is superb. Kicha Sudeep's performance in Eega is getting rave reviews from various quarters. With his wonderful acting, the actor has won the hearts of the audience. However, his fan followers from Karnataka had one more reason to be thrilled

How often have you seen a director telling you the story of his to-be directed film on the day of muhurat? How often have you laughed on hearing a silly storyline? How often have you seen a film which sounds silly but makes you wonder over it? Well you need not answer any of the questions above but what matters for everyone is that SS Rajamouli has created a film which stands way above the normality and entertains its patrons too. The story of Eega can be told in a simple manner. A boy falls in love with a girl. The girl is wanted by another sinister and powerful man. Sensing that the lover boy would be a threat to his dubious designs, the powerful man kills him off. The lover boy is born again as a housefly and is out to take a revenge over his killer. But rather than the story it is the process of experience the journey of revenge and the process of how a housefly creates havoc for such a dangerous person and makes him pay for his mistakes. The process itself is so good and hilarious that every time the fly makes its appearance before the villain there are fireworks and the proceedings are just logical and very believable. The performances of the lead cast are very laudable. Sudeep steals the show with his antics. His minute expressions coupled with anger, irritation and humor are to be experienced. His is a complex role portraying various emotions and Sudeep just excels. He is one actor who is actually a superstar in Kannada and yet accepted a negative role in his debut Telugu film. Kudos to him. Samantha looks beautiful as girl next door and the object of villain's desire. She tugs at hearts and also acts vengeful. Nani should be lauded for taking up this film in-spite of very well knowing that his role would be very limited one more like a guest appearance. He made an impact with his presence and his pairing with Samantha is fresh and youthful. Coming to the direction part, SS Rajamouli takes a leap into the next league of directors. He now can claim part in that elite group of film makers who have changed the trends of cinema. He is the only director who has not tasted a failure and Eega would continue the trend. He broke many a conventions with this film. His greatest trick in this film is to keep the story and screenplay very simple not taxing the minds of the audience. Though he employs high VFX in creating the fly and its adventures, he makes the eega look lovable and likable. His other biggest victory lies in utilizing every department properly. The other heroes other than Rajamouli for the film behind the camera were KK Senthil Kumar (Cinematography), MM Keeravani (Music) and Makuta (VFx). These departments have helped Rajamouli to visualize his dream of telling a bedtime story effectively onto the screen. Makuta have done a wonderful job of creating this creature and making it lovable without making it look grotesque. The VFx utilized in the film are of top quality and set new standards in Indian cinema after Robot. Keervani's music deserves a special mention as the maestro proves that given an exciting story, he would create wonders with his own talent. If the eega which appears on screen communicates with the audience, it is due to the background score of Keeravani only. KK Senthil Kumar once again proves that he is the best when dealing with high budgeted technical extravaganzas as he understands the directors vision and his camera just catches the proper nuances of the minute creature. Rajamouli has proved that no big star is needed to entertain audience but a little bit of imagination and compelling screenplay is enough to keep one glued to the screen. Eega is a compelling film which can be enjoyed by a 6 year old as well as an 80 year old too. Just go ahead and watch this amazing film.

My Rating : 9/10

This is what being creative is all about, seriously good movie about a lover who dies and then reincarnates as a fly to take revenge on his perpetrators.

Visually riveting, Eega is one helluva high-concept thriller/comedy and needs to be seen to be believed.

Watch it!!!

I was initially drawn to this movie because of it's similar premise with the H.P. Lovecraft/Hazel Heald story "Winged Death". Eega is not your typical fare, especially as an American unaccustomed to the movies of India. The first quarter of this film feels like you're watching the love child of a car/jewelry advert and music video. That's not to say it's bad it's just atypical and at times distracting.

Overall I found the story to be somewhat predictable and it veered from a sickening sweet to the dark and sinister. The acting is pretty good throughout but the actor playing the villain really shines.

The CG effects are sub-par compared to a Hollywood block buster but despite this I found myself forgetting I was watching a very obviously CG fly which I took as a good sign.

I would say if you're in the mood to experience something different, to step outside of the rehashed Hollywood garbage, are open to a movie that teeters from whimsical to sinister, and want to watch a moral dance between what amounts to a mob boss and a CG fly give this gem a shot.