I love this movie so much

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I was browsing randomly on IMDb to see if I can find a movie to watch. Recently I watched 'Vikram Vedha' and got impressed beyond my expectation. I used to think they make only masala movies. So, I came here looking for similar movies. Then I came across this movie. I was so excited seeing the IMDb rating. Though I knew the lead actor is known for doing masala movies, I thought maybe he did one good movie in his career. But, oh boy, I was so wrong! This is the same old s***, just in a different packet. Story has many flaws, acting is awful (especially the side characters) . The protagonist is as usual a Godlike person who can fight 20 men alone without getting a scratch. I still cannot fathom how he was shot at by ~20 people simultaneously in an open space but not a single bullet hit him. I expected to watch a serious movie, not this funny-yet-distasteful movie. To put things into perspective, The Usual Suspects (1995) is rated 8.6 on IMDb. If you think you are going to see a movie on a similar level to this masterpiece, I am sorry to say you will regret later. I just gave it a 4* just because it has a story (though with many flaws) unlike most South Indian movie and special effects were on satisfactory level.

Sukumar has a way of writing his hero's character. What was evident in Arya, Jagadam, Arya-2 and 100% Love is on display in 1- Nenokkadine, too. The big difference between his remarkably fresh films of yesterday and his latest commercial film of today is to be mentioned at the outset, lest the audience expect novelty, only to come out tad disappointed. 1 is perhaps Sukumar's first formula film that has the capability to tank without a trace if Mahesh Babu's character did not come with a difference. It's Sukumar's hero who is the saving grace, and the rest of the film (mostly, it seems all about chases and attacks - real or imaginary) is like a Xerox copy of Hollywood films.Gautham (Mahesh Babu) is a self-tormented rock star. Haunted by a macabre past and living with an uncertain future, he is at a loss to differentiate reality from hallucination, truth from self-delusion. His roller coaster journey, full of bumps and confusions, begins to unravel as he is deliberately shadowed by an intrepid journalist (Kriti Sanon).Sukumar's heroes, for all their inner turmoil, long for love. Gautham, in the process of discovering himself and his past, falls for the heroine and the revenge story gradually develops an emotional undercurrent of its own.The agonized life of Gautham receives help from the Juno, who is sympathetic of her idol's psychological disorder. Like in all revenge stories, the lives of the two are intertwined.Although a gripping storyline (given that it is a mix of psychological thriller elements and Hollywoodish plot), Sukumar's narration falls short of expectations. The length adds to our woes, so much so one feels like one's patience is being tested.The stage is set for an exciting film when Gautham surrenders before the police, claiming that he has avenged the death of his parents by murdering three cold-blooded murderers. Reminding us of umpteen slick Hollywood action-psychological dramas, the story introduces the angle of a disorder from which the hero is suffering. The film comes into its own only during the interval bang. Kriti's drama keeps us guessing, but the scenes in Goa are not exciting. Barring flashes of brilliance here and there, there is nothing home to write about.The best scene of the film, undoubtedly, is the interval bang. It's one scene where the dialogue is at witty its best, Mahesh is at his acting best and the screenplay is at its nimble best.The second half's chases and fights are forgettable, as there is not much in terms of mind games or novelty. Peter Heines lets us down with is run-of-the-mill action choreography.There is only one scene in which the tormented hero evolves to be one step ahead of his rivals and it's a treat to watch. The twist involving Nasser and Pradeep Rawat is another high point. Sadly, Sukumar seems to have given into the demands of formula by inserting Sophie Chowdhary's 'London Babu' song, which makes the pace slacken and the film look tad mundane.Fittingly, Sukumar has delivered a lengthy film without a parallel comedy track. The few laughs which Mahesh evokes is entirely situational and it is to the credit of the script that Mahesh makes us smile even while undergoing trauma.Amid regular chases and attacks, there is Posani Krishna Murali as a Sardarji.Barring flashes of brilliance shown by Mahesh, there is not much in terms of the artistic content. Kriti is not a treat to watch, albeit she has got those exceptional looks to be a stylish actress. Sukumar should have worked on making Mahesh look markedly different Pr and post the death of his confusion.

Hearsay had it that the movie was a rehashed adaptation of the Bourne series. We can assure you it isn't. That said, that said the film seems like an earnest attempt to fashion a spy thriller (in which the protagonist is in search of his true identity) to the dictates of the mainstream Tollywood potboiler template. We'll try to take you through the process of how a filmmaker looking to adapt a Hollywood thriller in Telugu would have to do.Firstly, clichés of the Hollywood spy thriller genre would need to be tinkered with suitably, starting from the protagonist. Since the intelligence wing of India, RAW, doesn't quite have the same ring as the MI6 or FBI, having the hero play a spy could prove detrimental. Playing an undercover cop or investigative journalist is considered too passé these days. A rock star is considered to be the epitome of user cool these days (in Telugu cinema parlance at least), and needless to say offers numerous song possibilities and the excuse to dress up the hero in a multitude of looks. So rocker it is.Now adapting to the central conflict of the plot - stolen identity - would be a real challenge. It would be too old fashioned to have his loose his memory due to a head injury sustained in an accident. Having his memory erased by the villains would get too implausibly hi-tech for the plot. We also need something that can bring in some melodrama... like the loss of a loved one.Voila, Gautham is introduced awakening from a nightmare from his childhood where he's on the run, dodging bullets from goons. It is followed by a prophetic rock number that goes Who are you?...giving you a hint of the central theme of the film. The song ends in a spectacular chase sequence after which Gautam surrenders to the police, confessing to killing three people who murdered his parents. It is revealed, our man is suffering from a brain disorder resulting from a 25% shortfall in Grey matter in his brain! As a result he can't tell reality from hallucination, the doctor explains after proving that Gautam doesn't remember how his parents looked.Did he really have parents? Did the get killed? Is it all a creation of his bleeped up brain? The rest of the film is designed to answer these questions in a rather complicated way. There is a touch of sophistication in the way the screenplay plays out. The cinematography is very slick and creates an intense mood with dull color pallets.The acting by Mahesh Babu is pretty intense right though despite going overboard with the brooding act a few places. He wears a permanent frown right through the movie without as much as half a grin even when he proposes love. He seems to have worked on his dancing which should cheer his fans big time. Kriti Sanon looks pretty and well enough to justify her role. The rest of the cast is just filling the numbers and do what they are told.The writing is sharp right through albeit being not so whistle worthy. It packs quite a few smart one liners delving into the nature of truth, identity, pain etc. The music though comes as a dampener, as does the background score which seems too pretentious. The action sequences are very Hollywood inspired but fall well short of being breathtaking and end up looking cheesy.So the bottom line is simple. The Tollywood format of six songs, five fights and loads of entertainment and melodrama makes it impossible to respectably adapt racy Hollywood styled suspense thrillers.

He is a rock star and a troubled one at that. Amidst performing to a roaring audience, he senses the presence of one of his parents' killers gunning for his life, chases him down, finishes him off and surrenders to the police. The world around him is stunned to discover the hitherto unknown facet of the rock star. Meanwhile, a video footage shot by a television reporter reveals the truth — the rock star was fighting an imaginary opponent. It appears that he suffers from a psychological condition termed Interpretation Disorder, which blurs his capability of differentiating reality and imagination.Director Sukumar's 1 is not a film one can watch passively. Soon after the fantastically picturesque opening song 'Who are you?', he draws you into the thriller mode only to tell you it's not going to be a linear story. How often do we get to watch a Telugu film where the audience, along with the protagonist and supporting characters, is also required to think and distinguish between events unfolding in real and imaginary spaces? The television reporter Sameera (debutante Kriti Sanon) sniffs a TRP-friendly story and trails Gautam (a leaner, fitter Mahesh Babu) as he retreats to a luxury cocoon in Goa.Rathnavelu's roving camera rarely comes to a halt, just like its protagonist, searching for answers across surreal, low-lit streets, exotic beaches, and the cold, Grey streets of London. Gautam, meanwhile, is at the risk of injuring himself and anyone around him as his mind refuses to stop playing tricks on him.Habitual to watching films that begin with a great premise only to fall into the commercial trap of force-fit comic situations, it comes as a relief when Sukumar laces the psychological thriller with subtle wit that never takes the focus away from the plot. A few eye- popping sequences raise the bar for action in Telugu cinema, with well-choreographed stunts helped by good cinematography, editing, visual effects and background score. But once the dots begin to connect and a few plot points become easier to guess, the drama tends to drag and one wonders if the conflict between what's real and imaginary has been stretched too far. With a run time of a little less than three hours, the film can test a viewer's patience.This isn't your regular mas ala cinema and may not be everyone's cup of tea. If you're willing to invest some patience and soak in the mood of a film that attempts to appeal to an audience that's used to watching global cinema, 1 will not disappoint. In this visually stunning film, Mahesh Babu delivers his career-best performance. His son Gautam makes a debut through a cameo and appears at ease in front of the camera. As a surprise there's Devi Sri Prasad's background score that's so different from his regular fare. He's been given the chance to push the envelope and boy, he does it so well.