Srivathsan Nadadhur
When discussing Pawan Kalyan’s career, you describe it in two phases – the one before and the one after Kushi. The S J Surya-directed romantic entertainer had everything in the mix to make for an ideal commercial cocktail. Pawan Kalyan’s exuberant performance, Bhumika’s delicate act in the shoes of an egoistic woman in her 20s, the lead pair’s sparkling chemistry, an innovatively written romantic track, and packaged with Mani Sharma’s music score that turned an entire generation topsy-torvy. To date, it’s hard to believe that the film (that enjoyed a year-long theatrical run at a few centres) was a remake of the director’s Tamil rom-com of the same name, for it was adapted so well with strong regional references in the dialogues, sensibilities with the humour and smart casting.
We felt the time was ripe to visit Kushi in its original version to understand what was strikingly different/similar to the Telugu remake. For the uninitiated, the Tamil version had starred Vijay, Jyothika and several familiar faces who had starred in the Telugu version too. Surprisingly, the magic created in the original was no different or if we may say, a tad purer and simple to say the least. The heroic element in the story remains relatively subtle, the film is made well to cater to its male lead Vijay’s strengths while Jyothika seems more assured in the shoes of the female protagonist than Bhumika. There’s a madness streak you see in Jyothika, that P Vasu used to great effect in Chandramukhi a few years later. The music, most of which was reused in NTR’s Naaga, by Deva remains effective (but not a patch on Mani Sharma’s effort in Telugu).
One of the few factors that works better in the Tamil version is the upbringing of the female protagonist (Jennifer) in a Christian family. Given the representation of Christians in Tamil and Telugu languages are not so frequent, it makes for a more interesting backdrop. For instance, the proceedings in the Church where the girl approves her father’s idea of getting her married with a word ‘samadanam’ is way more effective than the temple sequence in Telugu. As clichéd as it sounds, the Hindu-Christian angle with the protagonists also helps build an underplayed idea of barrier-less love, and that religions aren’t a matter of significance when it comes to love. The religious aspect is barely touched upon in the film, to add more weight to this fact.
The dancer backdrop to the hero in Tamil feels more organic. It’s no news that Vijay is a better dancer than Pawan Kalyan and there’s more ease with the moves. However, the Telugu album sounds and even appears grander with Mani Sharma’s work – the director has worked with both the actors, understanding their strengths and limitations smartly. The most apparent difference in both the versions is the climax. The Tamil one takes a more logical route, where the male protagonist takes a flight to convince his girlfriend’s dad and arranges everything for the marriage before the girl arrives and they seal their lovestory. The Telugu one prefers to be more comical, where a television channel interviews the couple for conceiving a record number of kids. It’s anyone’s guess as to what works better for the story.
All said and done, both are successful films. While the Tamil version is more soulful and realistic, the commercial appeal in the Telugu version is equally ravishing. S J Surya has beautifully tailored the Telugu version keeping Pawan Kalyan’s image in the mind. It’s amazing to see how much Pawan Kalyan has brought to the film with his body language alone. The stunt sequences choreographed by Pawan Kalyan himself make the viewing experience all the more riveting. Ali brings so much into the plate than Vivek in terms of humour. With both films, certain aspects don’t seem to be ageing well with time, especially with the sequences involving Mumtaz where the dance master is trying to ‘feel’ and grope the women around him. It’s extremely distasteful otherwise too that a beautifully scripted love story needs to have such an audacious character, even if the makers were compelled to include it to please a certain section of a viewers.
