Bahumati Telugu Movie
Hats off to S V Krishna Reddy! He has proved his mettle again. When the industry is running short of unique story ideas and colorful thrash passes muster as good movies to run for hundred days only on star value, Krishna Reddy has taken just actors (not stars) and pulled off a surprise. He is known for writing/directing good family oriented and comedy movies for sixteen years. This time he comes up with a brilliant entertainer - Bahumati. The movie has no violence (if we can overlook just one scene), no gimmicks, and no high decibel dialog deliveries – just plain entertainment.
From the word go Bahumati packs jokes. And the audience keeps laughing even when the story turns serious in the second half. Most of the scenes of the movie are sensibly directed, with barely a scene or two needing improvement. But it's easier said than done, so full marks to the director. And the plot that builds up slowly is fairly gripping. The director keeps the grip over the audience till the end of the movie.
If it's the jokes of Krishna Bhagwan in the first half, it's the dance and comedy of Sunil in the second half that keeps the viewers glued to their seats, eyes fixed on the screen. Sunil gets a dance scene to show his talents in Bahumati again after 'Andala Ramudu'. Krishna Bhagwan gets plenty of opportunity to enthrall the audience with his unique brand of comedy. Sangeeta is superb in a negative role. Venu leaves no room for complaint. Most importantly the story is believable.
The story of Bahumati is about an honest cop Venkataramana (Venu). Venkataramana is an orphan with strong values in life. He doesn't take bribe, doesn't keep grudges, and keeps his word – a rare police officer one may say. That's a big problem in today's world. His wife Bhanumati (Sangeeta) is dead against this type of attitude. She sites examples of other police officers who are making a lot of money by accepting bribe. Even his assistant and friend (Krishna Bhagwan) is against Venkatramana's policies. But the honest cop doesn't change his ways. He is at peace with himself and aims to build a charitable trust for orphans.
Venky's problem doesn't end there. His wife is a cantankerous woman who keeps shouting at him for flimsy reasons and treats him like dirt. The reason Venky tolerates her is: he has high tolerance threshold and keeps forgiving her.
One day Bahumati serves inedible breakfast to Venky. He goes hungry to work. But he doesn't forget to buy a lottery ticket that his wife has asked for. Then he goes to a hotel, where Shabna Khan is working as a waitress, to have breakfast. Venky likes the ambience of the hotel and the cheerful attitude of the waitress. He eats dishes recommended by her. But when it comes to paying the bills he simply has no money in the purse as his wife has removed every penny except hundred rupees that he had spent on the lottery ticket. He doesn't even have his wrist watch on to deposit instead of cash. The only thing he has is the lottery ticket. So he offers to pay later double the amount of the bill or half of the lottery prize in case he wins.
And a few days later he wins the lottery prize – a whooping 100 millions!
Then the real story starts. Thanks to master yarn spinner Krishna Reddy, the story gets interesting with each passing scene.
Be it the assistant of the rich Bhanumati or the friend of the waitress Shabna Khan, every character in Bahumati is clearly conceived and given shape. Even the music is good. The court room scenes in the second half are meticulously created and directed leading close to the climax. And in the end it feels as if the movie that's of normal length has ended too fast. That's a sign of a good movie – isn't it?
