Raghavendra (2003) Dir. Suresh Krishna

I never intended to have such a slow start and such a long break from my blog in 2011. But I am hoping things are quieting down and getting back to my version of normal. Anyways..to celebrate my return to more regular blogging here is my first Prabhas post! Oh Young Rebel Star what has taken me sooo long?!

There is a lot to recommend for Prabhas fans in Raghavendra, his second film. Apparently this was never released with subtitles but a wonderful fan of Prabhas' took the time to subtitle  and upload it to youtube. In the beginning of the film Prabhas doesn't say much, he just looks tall and imposing, fully bearded and dressed in the Safron robes of a devotee of Lord Raghavendra. His friends from the city come to bring him back to fight the injustice of some murderers who are released unpunished. They seem to think that Raghava is the only one that can bring justice for their murdered friend. But Raghava has taken a vow of nonviolence and refuses to even listen to his friends.


Now you know from his entrance he is clearly a hero because he saved a small boy from an elephant.

And they gave him the toughest jobs at the Temple.

And you can tell from the flashback images that run through his head and the faces he makes that he clearly wants to kick some ass.

But he doesn't! Not even when his cousin Mahalakshmi, played by Swetha Agarwal is continually harrassed by a group of rowdies. It all comes to a head when she files a police complaint against them. Instead of arresting the rowdies the police call their goonda boss Ankineedu, played perfectly by Anand Raj. Ankineedu is so evil he laughs and smiles and declares "I Like it"  in English whenever something awfull he has instigated happens.

Well, he decidedly does NOT like that Mahalakshmi filed a report against his men so he has her publically stripped and her parents beaten. Everyone stands around watching, even the police refuse to intervene, so you know Raghava just has to break his vows and come in and open a can of whoop-ass right? Come-on Prabhas kick some butt! But what does he do? He gets beat up and grovels!! And begs for them to stop!

Ok,sSo this is too much really. Everyone yells at him and accuses him of all kinds of cowardliness and all sorts of un-manly behavior. Useless Fellow! Finally the flashback sequence comes where we find out what drove him to be in this situation.

It seems Raghava was a hot headed youth who could not tolerate injustice of anykind. He was constantly beating people up for every offence, from disrespecting elders and the Indian flag, to more obvious forms of rowdiism. I like how the subtitler occaisionally offers his own comments during the action.

His parents were constantly ashamed of his behavior and he argued and had tantrums in front of them. They begged him to let the police and courts handle meteing out justice but he argued the police were useless. His parents warn him that the violence will get his family or friends killed one day.

Enter Brahmanandam. In this film he plays a full charactor not just someone plopped in for comedy relief. Brahmi witnesses Raghava beating one of Ankineedu's men and reports Raghava for beating an "innocent elder". When Raghava follows him to intimidate him into withdrawing the report he spies Brahmi's sister Sirisha, played by Anshu.

They fall in love and unfortunetly for Sirisha, his parents words come back to haunt him.

Sirisha is killed and Ankineedu tells Raghava's parents are  to leave town immediately. A grief stricken Raghava comes home to his parents moving truck, they curse him and blame him for everything. In an emotional scene he vows to live how they want him to and to forsake violence in devotion to god.

I actually get the feeling that part of the reason he doesn't respond to Mahalakshmi's distress is because he knows the police won't do anything and he wants to prove his point to his parents, that the world needs people like him to ensure there is justice. There is one scene after Mahalaksmi gets her hair cut by the rowdies that her parents are yelling at him to do something and he just stays silent and wraps his saffron robe around himself and walks past his parents with a small I-told-you-so smile on his face.

After Mahalakshmi is publically stripped his parents beg him to reconsider his vows. It seems they have learned their lesson after all.

So at last Raghava gets to do what he always wanted to do!

And I might add, he looks mighty fine doing it!

The songs by Mani Sharma are only so-so. I liked Nee Style  because it made Venice look so pretty.



I also like the  Item number Calcutta Paan Vesina. If someone could tell me who the girl is I would appreciate it!


All in all it was a fun flick. And Director Suresh Krishna remembered the golden rule when filming Prabhas: Prabhas +Water = Yum!