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		Home > Telugu Movie Reviews > Mayabazar Fantasy Flick APK | December 01, 2006 Rating: **.75 (***** Very Good, **** Good, *** Fair, ** Average, * Bad) Cast: Raja, Bhoomika Chawla, SP Balu, Tanikella Bharani, Ali, Baby Harshitha, LB Sriram, Dharmavarapu, Jayalalitha, Duvvasi Mohan, Surya, Gundu Sudharshan and Others. Art: KV Ramana. Cinematography: Jawahar Reddy. Editing: V. Nagi Reddy. Music: KM Radhakrishnan. Direction: Mohanakrishna Indraganti. Producer: B. Satyanarayana & Rajkishore Khaware. Presenter: RKK Films (P) Limited. Banner: Satyam Entertainment. Release Date: 1st December, 2006. When the tag of Mayabazar reads Myth Magic Money, then you better take it seriously. It is based on Hindu mythology, has Celestial beings indulging in silly magic tricks on Earth, and is centered around...hold your breath...Kubera-so money obviously comes in. Remember Yamaleela? Who'd forget it? It had loads of comedy and came around a decade ago. Audiences have grown up, and this mythical movie doesn't exactly hit bulls-eye. National award winner Indraganti doesn't completely disappoint, as the movie is watchable, but not quite as interesting as one would want it to be. Plot: The movie starts off with NTR's Venkateshwara Mahathyam, where Kubera lends him money for his wedding, and the myth goes that He is returning the interest to this date. Then we move on to Balasubrahmanyam playing Kubera and Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam playing Narada Muni. So basically, Kubera was cursed by a Sage that he has to serve an ideal man, and his search finally ends with Srinivas (Raja), an orphan whose peasant parents commit suicide due to debts. He wants to help everyone, and wishes to eradicate poverty and hunger. A little girl called Siri (Baby Harshitha) is taken into his care but has a heart disease for which Kubera lends him the money, and some extra dough for him to start a business. Srinivas gets Siri operated, starts a canteen, and the business expands to a multi-crore industry (all in an extremely short time, because the little kid is the same age). Anupama (Bhoomika) is a weird girl who likes to fall in front of cars for the 'thrill' of it. She later becomes his secretary and soon enough, his fiancé. Kubera gets tired of serving the man. He goes to his palatial house and washes dishes and clothes (he doesn't have a washing machine even though his annual turnover is 500 crores). Kubera comes back to ask a wish-what the wish is, and what happens next is the rest of the plot. Story, Screenplay and Direction: The whole Gods and Lords in a mythical set-up in the skies with clouds floating around them is so 1960s. Very silly, and extremely out-dated. But still, all those make-believe scenes provide a few laughs, and the climax is funny. More comedy and less of this ideal man business would have helped the movie go a long way. It is a fantasy film all the way, and that may not go down too well with today's audiences. The entertainment value is there, but still the movie seems to drag a bit and that's where it fails to hold the interest of the viewer. The climax where Srinu is getting married, a few quirky dialogues here and there and the pace are good. Performances: Raja is undoubtedly good-he is unaffected, natural and believable. Bhoomika is cute, and the petite actor makes her presence felt. Raja and Bhoomika have a good chemistry. Ali is an asset to the movie, and he could have had a meatier role, and more comedy would have done the film good. Balasubrahmanyam as Kubera suits the role; he is good at times, but sometimes he has a tendency to ham. Tanikella Bharani and Jayalalitha, Indraganti's old favorites among others have miniscule roles, but do justice to them. Song and Dance: Above average fare from KM Radhakrishnan and the picturization is nothing earth-shaking. Plain, but bearable. Last Word: Indraganti manages to extract work out of the actors and the characters are not badly written either. One might have a problem digesting all the fables and myths in the movie, but it is better if one has a general idea about who all these Celestial beings are-otherwise it may get confusing at times. It is difficult to fuse both the elements of old mythology and modern social values of an ordinary man and blend it well together-the writer almost manages it. Mayabazar will not leave you spell-bound but it is watchable fare.