Eega (Dir. S.S. Rajamouli)

If there is one film that could get my blog out of hiatus it's Eega, wrtten and directed by my favorite Director S.S. Rajamouli. Rajamouli's magic and golden touch continues with the ground breaking animation of Eega. It is destined to be another super hit for him in my opinion. 

The first part of Eega is in many ways a typical boy meets girl story between Nani (played by Nani) and Bindhu (played by Samantha). When the villain Sudeep (played perfectly by Sudeep) becomes enraged at Bindhu's lack of attention and realizes it is because of her love for Nani, he kills Nani setting up a fantastical reincarnation and revenge story.

Nani is reincarnated as a fly and once he shows up the fun and creative genius of Rajamouli really kicks in. So many details showing both the minutia of Eega's world while at the same time creating a land of giants for him to manuever through, creates the perfect balance of wimsy and tension.   The opening shots of Eega flying through the park with the kids and the soap bubbles and the velcro surface of the tennis ball, combined realistic live action  with the animated, Eega-eye view, just wowed me right from the beginning.  Rajamouli kept this clever blend of live action and animation, that really pulls you into Eega's world, going throughout the film.

The comedy ramps up as Eega begins his torment of Sudeep. Sudeep becomes more and more unhinged as he begins obssessing about this fly that is tormenting him in increasingly persistant and seemingly on purpose ways. The audience was in stiches throughout the film. The interval bang has Rajamouli upping the anti on special effects and the use of CGI, production values are the best I've seen since Endhiran.

After the interval it becomes obvious how tightly put together the script is. Fortunetly for Eega, Bindhu creates micro-jewlry and knows sign language, making it easier for him to both communicate with her and enlist her help in exacting revenge. Once he reveals himself to her, he gets her to create various tools and weapons for him to use. He transforms into a kind of Super Fly with micro gas mask,  barbells made from a lightbulb filament, and little metal claws to scratch through hard surfaces (and skin!)

The final fight is spectacular and creates an emotional impact and thankfully Rajamouli ends the film on a fun and lighthearted note.

M.M.  Keeravani's soundtrack and background scores really enhance the comedy, tension and emotion of the scenes with Eega. There are so many special touches and amazing visuals in Eega. It really is worth going to see on the big screen, even without subtitles. There are some surprises for South Indian film fans including a short Rajnikanth clip  and be sure to stay for the end credits to see Eega channeling Ravi Teja, Ram Charan and Tarak!

I can't wait to see it again and I am looking forward to the DVD..this movie is begging to be screencapped!