A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature
By Rohith Raju
By Rohith Raju
Starting his career in mid ‘80s, it was like a roller-costar
journey for him; he made mainstream films when he was experiencing success,
acted in experimental films during hard times. There have been so many ups and
downs in his career. Above all, I personally revere this actor for his ‘Method
Acting’ (limited to particular films) which made him the only contemporary
actor to show prowess at that skill. I will talk more about method acting while
moving deeper into this list.
1. Geethanjali
Here is a Mani Ratnam’s showpiece and Nagarjuna’s milestone which
kept the momentum going for both. I really don’t know what tickled Mani Ratnam
to enter Tollywood, but that helped Nagarjuna significantly in making his
substantial mark which bagged him with a great deal of following. Coming to the
film, Geethanjali, it a story of an ill-fated couple who are suffering from
terminal diseases; it has everything in the form of intense love, emotion,
tragedy, romance and bullying nature of the lead. In addition, P.C. Sreeram’s
cinematography, Ratnam’s portrayal of love, romance, strong women
characterization, and Nagarjuna’s offbeat performance made this avant-garde
film more than a masterpiece, making it just the second movie to be rewarded
with Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at National Awards
after K. Vishwanth’s “Sankarabharanam”.
2. Siva
RGV’s
unconventional approach and Akkineni’s dynamism made this an eye-opener. RGV, who was very popularly known for his scandalous temperament,
debuted with the influential gangster drama “Siva” which starred Nagarjuna and
Amala as lead pair. RGV, who introduced Steadicam to the Tollywood, composed an
impeccable screenplay and made this film seem hard-hitting with his amateur yet
consummate execution. Akkineni and Amala got a great scope to depict their
acting potential as there were major portions of love, romance and emotions despite
it being a gangster film. Nagarjuna delivered an exceptional performance: be it
the ‘Cycle Chain’ scene or the scene which came at climax, he just had nailed
them. But on a whole, it was an in and out complete RGV show with Nag’s
fortitude theatrics, which made every viewer laud this film that later became a
chartbuster by writing its page in history of Telugu cinema. Lastly, it became
a trend-setter film in Tollywood which created the impact: “Industry before Siva,
industry after Siva”.
3. Annamayya
K. Raghavendra Rao’s vision along with Nag’s method acting
includes this biopic in top 10 films. Those who had watched this 57-year-old actor’s “Ninne Pelladatha”
conceived by Krishna Vamsi, will surely not believe that the same actor had
starred in “Annamayya” too. The transition from a young lover boy to a much
divine character (Annamacharya) is indeed unbelievable, and probably he achieved
it with method acting. K. Raghavendra, who had a unique style in filmmaking and
staging, thankfully offered him with a ‘once in a life’ character through
“Annamayya”. Besides, Nag too got used to his role and succeeded in convincing
viewers that he was the bona fide ‘Annamacharya’. And there, I was pretty sure
that he adopted method acting because there was no way he could bring that kind
of realism and emotion of ‘Annamacharya’ without this acting technique. Maybe
he stayed in that persona till the completion of the entire cinema to attain
that pragmatism and authenticity which can’t be accomplished without method
acting. Consequently,this biographical film garnered him ‘Special Mention’ at
National Film Awards, making him the first Telugu actor to earn this achievement.
In my perspective, it was the least they could give in return.
4. Manmadhudu
A K. VijayaBhaskar’s eminence hilarity and emotive depiction
over the method actor made this a ‘Whole-some’ entertainer. K. Vijaya Bhaskar, who had created his own style
in mainstream films associating with Trivikram Srinivas, once again enchanted
us with “Manmadhudu” (the film which comes with the sub-title He hates women) post “Nuvvu Naaku Nachav”, offering Nag with a
strongminded yet light-hearted portrayal. Actor-Producer Nagarjuna, a determined
misogynist in this film, took the exercise of entertaining everybody by
uttering amusing dialogues. The writer-director Trivikram’s penetrating story
along with his punch dialogues combined with National Award-winner Bhaskar’s fine
execution seized this movie to become super hit. Additionally, this picture
showcased another sort of performer in Nagarjuna.
5. Oopiri/Thozha
Vamshi Paidipalli’s good-sensible-offbeat adaptation of
Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s “Intouchables” created a decent emotional
impact, leading it to become an untypical cult movie. It was very hard to believe that the film maker Vamshi
Paidipalli, who entertained us with commercial “Yevadu”, had directed the
technically made “Oopiri” because of the film’s fresh essence, jollity, humor
sense, captivating screenplay and sentimentalism which Vamshi didn’t
demonstrate in his previous flicks. Further in Oopiri/Thozha, he offered an
awe-inspiring character to Nag, which involved so much of agony, hope,
sufferings, and celebration. But Oopiri being a buddy film, his screen presence
was limited and Karthik, who was another lead, had stolen the entire show
making everyone laugh, stirring the viewers to react emotionally and at the
same time romancing with Tamannah. Musically Gopi Sundar’s soundtrack, which
touched my heartstrings, must be applauded in particular. Let it be “Oka Life”
or “EpuduOkalaundadu” song, we seldom hear these kinds of songs which conveyed
a good message. P. S. Vinod’s visuals incorporated with Vamshi’s picturization
made them even better. Also, Gopi slated an absorbing BGM using Violin which was
very uplifting. Besides, Nag too delivered an impeccable performance soulfully
which made him proud, and which would stay in the hearts
of many moviegoers till the next decade.
About Author -
Rohith Raju an undergraduate who is passionate about all things cinema. South Indian cinema happens to be his first love among equals. He blogs at Directors Blog.
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