C/O KANCHARAPALEM (2018) - TELUGU

To call this movie GREAT would still be an understatement.

I waited to watch the film the second time to give my review, as the first viewing gave an overwhelming feeling. I almost sobbed for an hour after the film and become so emotional that rationality was not to be found even after days after second viewing. So, as I got into my senses and have overcome the overwhelming emotion, I decided to pen down my feelings about this film today.

For me, this is a reflection of a slice of life of characters. I did not see any actor or actress, all I could see are characters and therein lay the greatness of the film. The acting is as natural as it can get. To call the performances as acting would also be wrong, I guess. I would say they just lived their character. Their slice of life was beautifully captured through the view of the director. Never did I feel all through the film, that this film was written and scripted and then shot with a camera. I felt like cameras were hidden from the eyes of the characters, and the way they live their life was just captured and edited out. This is as natural as it can get and am extremely thankful to the vision of the director for bringing out the most natural and realistic film ever in Telugu.

The performances, as mentioned above are just life lived in front of the screen. I did not ever feel that anybody was acting. Every character, big or small just put their heart out. Kudos to the director again for extracting such terrific performances from the mostly debut actors.

The screenplay is top notch, never did I feel in the first viewing that the end would be, what it turned out to be. The matching of the day with day and night with the night as screen shifts from one character to another is in itself technically a superlative achievement. The editing is just perfect there is space for characters to breathe and for the audience to relish those generally routine moments too.

Although all the characters were beautifully etched, I liked "Gaddam" and "Raju" amongst all the characters. But the one who stole my heart was the stammering "Ramamurthy" the one who made idols of clay.

I have been blessed with two amazing songs through the film. They are "Asha Pasham" and "Yemi Janmamu". Thanks to singers "Anurag Kulkarni" and "Venkat Rao" respectively for giving life to these songs with their heart, soul and voice. Just amazing these songs are. The amount of philosophy that is conveyed through these songs is something that takes a lot of thought process for comprehending the lyrics. The lyrics by Vishwa are wonderful I must say and with simple Telugu, he gave a life philosophy in the song "Asha Pasham". Hope is like a net that all humans always fall into and we are bound by hope.

The music of the film is just sublime. The violins by Tyagaraju are just heart-rending. The silences are more powerful through the film than music. Now, am a huge fan of the music director "Sweekar Agasthi. I just wish he teams up with honest and passionate directors like Venkatesh Maha and gives us such gems.

About the director, Venkatesh Maha and the producer Praveena Paruchuri. I can just say a big thank you. How much ever I praise you guys, it would be less. You are like two angels who have blessed us with this gem of a film that has a lot of undercurrent philosophy and address so many issues head-on without making it preachy or over the top. Venkatesh Maha is one of the most honest and subtle directors we have got in Telugu (at least for now). I hope his journey continues for a long long time to come.

A 5/5 for the best film of the year and perhaps the decade. I don't care how many awards it would win, coz I am sure it can easily win millions of hearts. My current favorite film and this film will be on loop for years in my life.