Masala mix of melodrama and action

The best part about action comedy movies, with a distinct southern touch, is that it finds ready acceptance all across the zone. In these recent years itself there are many such examples. The film under selection for this week – Hanuman Junction (2001) – is a snug fit into this category. It is a remake of the humungous Malayalam hit ' Thenkasi Pattanam' released in 2000, which ran for a record 275 days, collected Rs 20 crore as its box office receipts and had a great star cast comprising Lal, Suresh Gopi and Dileep, whose role, though secondary in structure remains vital to the entire narrative. Of course, the Kannada, Tamil and Bangla versions followed in subsequent years with mixed luck at the cash counters.

A crazy, over-the-top mix of machismo and melodrama, this film, starring Jagapathi Babu and Arjun was released in the last week of December 2001. It was a venture bankrolled by Editor Mohan whose son M Raja made his directorial debut with the home production. Arjun, who has always had a steady market in Telugu and known as 'Action King' made a great combo with Jagapathi Babu who had a good time at the box office in the beginning of the new millennium.

With the commercial potential thus established, the film also featured young Telugu lasses like Sneha and Laya along with Venu Thottempudi who also was highly visible in films those days. Chennai-born Suresh Peters, who was known for his hit numbers scored by A R Rahman in the mid-1990s was roped in as a music director, retaining him from the original Malayalam film.

The rough-and-tough characters played by Arjun and Jagapathi Babu kept the action lovers glued to the proceedings, while the seemingly impossible love story between Venu and Vijayalakshmi, who fears her brothers but cannot help being attracted to the former made the romantic track in the film interesting. The filmi twists and misunderstandings as the flick runs its course of 159 minutes ultimately engages the audience which gave it the thumbs up.

Arjun, who had a successful 'Sri Manjunatha' released in mid-2001 had a great recall when 'Hanuman Junction' followed by the year end. His role in the devotional venture, helmed by the legendary K Raghavendra Rao too was much appreciated by the Telugu audience, as the film was simultaneously shot in Kannada and Telugu.

The other USP was that megastar Chiranjeevi too was present in the film playing Lord Shiva, who is also known as Manjunatha. This favourable atmosphere was in any case the result of many other dubbed films which Arjun had seen released in the southern market over the last two years then. This included the Telugu dub of showman Shankar's 'Mudhalvan' and a few others which showcased him as a romantic hero too, downplaying the rough and tumble scenes which his films contain in ample measure.

The second hero, Jagapathi Babu, who is now seen essaying more villainous, anti-hero roles in Telugu and Tamil cinema was a proper chocolate boy kind of a hero then. In 2001, he had four releases and hit the bull's eye with three, including the one with Arjun. Having sustained himself for more than 15 years in the industry, his career hit a new high with the Malayalam remake.

Director M Raja, who started his cinematic journey at the age of 27 with this film later went on to touch great heights after his first film which wwas the story of two childhood friends in a village who fall in love with the same woman went on to appeal to the Telugu audience tremendously. Critics raved about him and one of them hailed him as one 'who knows the mass pulse'.

Sneha, who was a newcomer into Telugu cinema had by then delivered a solid hit 'Priyamaina Neeku' which repeated its successful run in Tamil too. The other Telugu girl, Laya, a Kuchipudi dancer who was also a known chess player had a few more films than Sneha by then but couldn't last the distance in the industry as she saw her career wind up by mid-2000s. Anyhow, this film proved a memorable experience for many, from the helmsman to the heroes and heroines.