TOOFAN TELUGU MOVIE RATING AND COLLECTRIONS

• Posted by SUMAN CHOWDARY September 6, 2013 - Filed in Entertainment - #ANGRY YOUNG COP  - 1,591 views

   

   

  The phrase ‘Angry Young Man’ had its origins in the 70’s. The nation was badly hit by the monster of Emergency and everyone was fuming and boiling. The then young India could immediately relate themselves to this phrase and any hero who played such a role in movies, very well made a ‘connect’ with the audience. Amitabh Bachchan was at the pinnacle of his career during that era.

   

  Everyone rooted in his characters and people emoted with him. Many people took the mantle of the angry young man in the coming years; some succeeded and some failed, and now it’s with Ram Charan. At the moment, the entire nation is angry, thanks to many reasons. In this new avatar of ‘a boiling cauldron’ can Cherry repeat the magic of his predecessors and re-invent ‘the angry young man’. The answer is a YES and a NO!

   

  Toofan (Telugu version of Zanjeer) starts on a pale note with the hero introduction amid the chants of Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram. Then it gets into business of introducing our hero who is a peripatetic cop. Yes – 5 years and 22 places, and now to Mumbai. The first case he takes up there leads him into the oil mafia. The plot is crystal clear. The film is a police officer’s lash on illicit oil trade. The modus operandi of the traders is shown in an impeccable manner. Then there is a list of actors – some create hurdles for the hero and some propel him towards his goal. Needless to say, in the end, good wins over evil.

   

  Ram Charan as ACP Vijay Khanna is impressive but when pitted against mammoths such as Sher Khan (Sri Hari), he loses the steam. It’s like watching David and Goliath on screen. I am perplexed how it’s in Hindi when he shares the screen with Sanjay Dutt. Priyanka Chopra as an NRI tries to provide some comic relief in an otherwise serious story. Prakash Raj as Teja (the main villain) never tries to come out of his patented style. The audience got bored seeing him overdoing the same thing again and again. Now, it’s time for him to set on a different track. Tanikella Bharani as Jaya Dev does justice to his pivotal role of a crime journalist.

   

  The narration includes some real time incidents – murder of a collector and a journalist who is hell bent to wipe out the oil mafia. But these things have been presented in an utmost silly way. A deputy collector travels on a bike and takes the photographs of culprits. The same artificial things are placed at multiple locations in the film. The movie also has some good moments – Teja and Mona watching the oldZanjeer (may be Lakhia’s tribute to the original), a well orchestrated blast scene in a slum, and a racy second half. The cutaways during the climax with the Moharram procession are to die for.

   

  Director Apoorva Lakhia gets into his Hollywood shoes. I mean he doesn’t get there with his style of film-making but tries to border on some textbook movies. A couple of scenes, the introduction scene of Prakash Raj can be traced back to that of Robert DI Niro’s in The Untouchables. And when in doubt, there’s always Scarface for your rescue. The entire set-up became plastic with the type of costumes – hats, and the décor at the villain’s place. Mr. Lakhia, you are not a Scorsese or De Palma. So, it’s better if you stick to your style of film-making.

   

  The move starts with a James Bond-ish intro song and in the middle you can hear the overtures of the Mission Impossible soundtrack. This will be a cool game for movie buffs where in you can identify multiple OSTs of Hollywood films. Coming with songs –Pinky is a disaster. Mumbai ka Hero is the only song where Cherry is seen shaking his leg. But this one falls prey to bad placement. The rest is casual flings.

   

  Toofan stays in the middle road of classy and cheesy. The first half is tad slow and the second half picks momentum. The movie offers a bland platter for Telugu audience. Hard core fans of Mega Power Star Ram Charan can’t stomach a film that’s devoid of comedy and dance numbers. He fits in the role perfectly, but at times, his screen presence is over shadowed by the supporting cast. It’s high-time, Cherry should be picking his films. The intentions are noble and the platform is right for his Bollywood debut film. But remember that Inta gelichi racha gelavaali.

   

  Wait, that’s not over. There is Toofan 2 and this time Cherry will fight against the drug mafia!