Mirchi

Plus: 1. Prabhas 2. Second half 3. Interval 4. Action scenes Minus: 1. Routine story 2. First half 3. Climax fight Verdict: half spicy

Telugu actor Prabhas' much-hyped movie Mirchi, which happens to be the next biggest outing after Rebel, has hit the marque today. Debuntant Koratala Siva, who has earlier penned story and dialogues for several hit films, is turning director with this film, which has soared up the viewers' curiosity to sky high. It surely lives up to their expectations with its sound production elements and good performances by lead actors. Mirchi is a romantic action entertainer, which is rich in commercial aspects. Prabhas' electrifying performance is the main highlight of the movie. Koratala Siva's beautiful story and punch dialogues, Devi Sri Prasad's trendy music, Madhi's beautiful picturisation, amazing choreography of dance and action sequences, Brahmanandam and Raghubabu's comedy, beautiful artwork, costumes and locations are the highlights of the movie. The predictable plot with some outdated and clichéd scenes and weak climax are its drawbacks. Koratala Siva has chosen a good emotional story, which is the paramount of the movie Mirchi. It has fast-paced narration and the director has got good grip over the tempo. The first half of the film has two stunning fights and three songs (two romantic and a title track) and a few comedy sequences, and it has all other masala elements to make you glued to the screens. The fight and twist at interval bang set the tone for the story. The second half is very important. After the interval bang, the movie Mirchi goes into flashback mode and it turns very emotional. The second half has three sentimental, romantic and trendy songs and an amazing fight. The movie reaches the climax with a sad twist, which is heart-wrenching, and should be watched on screen. Jai (Prabhas) is an architect based in Milan, where he falls in love with Manasa (Richa) at first sight. He returns to his village in Palnadu area to reform his violent family background. With the help of bank manager Veera Pratap (Brahmanandam), Jai makes good advancement in winning the appreciation of everyone in Manasa's family. Here unfolds an interesting twist in the story. Jai shares strong connection with a man named Deva (Sathya Raj), who is an arch enemy of Manasa's family. Meanwhile, Manasa also realises that Jai is romantically linked with another woman named Vennela (Anushka). What happens next will form the crux of the story, which should be watched on screen.

Jai (Prabhas) is an architect from Italy and he believes one doesn't lose anything by loving people. At the most people will fall in love with you in return. He also says we pass through this life but once so we shouldn't make it complicating for us or the others. Manasa (Richa) likes his philosophy and falls in love with him as she always finds his company soothing . She on one occasion tells him to go away from her as she is getting used to this happiness. She is soon returning to her village where killing, hurting and blood shed is the order of the day; But to her surprise she finds him already stationed in her house winning everyone's affection. The dialogue about loving others becomes a backbone for the film, it is around this line the entire story is built. Jai acts as a bridge between two warring faction families and the initial title Varadhi was apt but later on it was changed to Mirchi. Just when the talk of getting Jai married to Manasa arises, Jai reveals the story to Manasa as to why he is not interested in getting married. Who is he and why did he enter her family in the first place? We see a lot of traces from Bindas in the film, if we bring a star hero in Bindas it becomes Mirchi. Though Koratala Siva's treatment is not new it gives a fresh feel.

There are many areas where you get to see Siva's talent and potential to direct a mass film. Especially the introduction of Jai is a good example. The fight scene in which he tells the rowdies how it would be like if he hits them brings an applause in the theatre. Sometimes you ought to believe when you see the cut out he says referring to his imposing personality and height. Siva earns brownie points through dialogues which sounds like a fight, he doesn't use an action scene every where. There is an advantage if a writer becomes a director, Siva could have polished some of the scenes but in majority of the portions he elevated the scenes through dialogues.

Prabhas looks cool in his fights, especially when he wields a sword. He appears very settled in his scenes, he has already proved his worth in Chatrapathi to the masses, Darling endeared him to the family audiences. He has shown through Mirchi that if a mass hero does a film that everyone likes, the range is different. Prabhas is growing as an actor with each film. Anushka gets more marks as a naughty woman and Richa who always disappoints is just about okay. Devi Sri Prasad's music brings out the energy and the mood especially Mirchi Lanti Kurrode rocked. Brahmanandam tickled the audiences in his own inimitable style. He plays the role of Veera Pratap who gets bugged when addressed as Pratapam. There are loopholes in the story as well. The first half doesn't move first and then there is a flash back in the second half. By the time it is done, the film is wrapped up. It is definitely a problem with the screenplay.

Anushka is an uneducated girl but she works in Prabhas' office. The same house is shown in the film and many films, maybe it is a permanent set for faction movies; it doesn't change with time at all. If you can skip these small flaws, Mirchi makes for an interesting watch. It has the fights of the faction and affections of the family all well knit to make it a spicy drama. A sure shot hit this!

The reason I say this movie was disappointing is because with such a talented cast and good premise, it still turned out to be a routine Telugu movie with nothing new. I watched this movie wanting to like it, and to an extent I did. Prabhas continues to rise as a Tollywood star and he was great as the lead. Anushka was a good heroine even though she only had about 30 minutes of screen time. Rest of the cast was also good, notably Sathyaraj and Sampath Raj. Songs were OK, some good and some bad. Comedy with Brahmanandam was good, and the overall atmosphere of the movie kept me watching. The main plot, two families at war, is a lot like Romeo and Juliet without the romance, and it is a very thrilling story. I will say this: Mirchi surprised me. I did not like most of the first half , especially the first 20 minutes. But when the twist is revealed at the interval, I really got pulled in to see what would happen.

However, there are some problems as well. We get these dumb action scenes throughout the movie with guys with giant machetes flying off the hero. I'm sick and tired off watching these fight scenes, which are meant just to glorify the hero. Bollywood has moved on from this style of action. So why can't Tollywood??? There are a few inconsistencies with the plot as well. When Prabhas says he came back to end the fighting between the 2 families, why the *%$# is he still killing people??? And again we get the classic 5 minute climax in which the conflict is solved by a long speech by the hero while beating up people.

I can say that there is some enjoyment to be had in Mirchi but it's not a great movie. I expected more from this movie. Acting, story, and tone were good, and what else can you ask of a movie? From A+ to F, Mirchi gets a C+.

Telugu actor Prabhas' much-hyped movie Mirchi, which happens to be the next biggest outing after Rebel, has hit the marque today. Debuntant Koratala Siva, who has earlier penned story and dialogues for several hit films, is turning director with this film, which has soared up the viewers' curiosity to sky high. It surely lives up to their expectations with its sound production elements and good performances by lead actors. Mirchi is a romantic action entertainer, which is rich in commercial aspects. Prabhas' electrifying performance is the main highlight of the movie. Koratala Siva's beautiful story and punch dialogues, Devi Sri Prasad's trendy music, Madhi's beautiful picturisation, amazing choreography of dance and action sequences, Brahmanandam and Raghubabu's comedy, beautiful artwork, costumes and locations are the highlights of the movie. The predictable plot with some outdated and clichéd scenes and weak climax are its drawbacks. Koratala Siva has chosen a good emotional story, which is the paramount of the movie Mirchi. It has fast-paced narration and the director has got good grip over the tempo. The first half of the film has two stunning fights and three songs (two romantic and a title track) and a few comedy sequences, and it has all other masala elements to make you glued to the screens. The fight and twist at interval bang set the tone for the story. The second half is very important. After the interval bang, the movie Mirchi goes into flashback mode and it turns very emotional. The second half has three sentimental, romantic and trendy songs and an amazing fight. The movie reaches the climax with a sad twist, which is heart-wrenching, and should be watched on screen. Jai (Prabhas) is an architect based in Milan, where he falls in love with Manasa (Richa) at first sight. He returns to his village in Palnadu area to reform his violent family background. With the help of bank manager Veera Pratap (Brahmanandam), Jai makes good advancement in winning the appreciation of everyone in Manasa's family. Here unfolds an interesting twist in the story. Jai shares strong connection with a man named Deva (Sathya Raj), who is an arch enemy of Manasa's family. Meanwhile, Manasa also realises that Jai is romantically linked with another woman named Vennela (Anushka). What happens next will form the crux of the story, which should be watched on screen.