Veteran director Kodi Ramakrishna (one of my father’s favorite directors) dished out quite a few blockbusters during his hey days. In a very old interview he compared a wholesome entertainer to a sumptuous meal. He observed that no matter how big the assortment of items, if you missed out on the essentials like ‘Avakaya’ pickle Telugus would go unsatisfied.
Films like ‘Ammoru’ and ‘Arundhati’ with their super success would have top-recall value, in the minds of many. But for me these four films stand out as top milestones in his illustrious career.
- Ankusam (1989) : For its excellent portrayal of the angst of a police officer; presentation of a unique relationship between a CM of a state and the protagonist; very well executed action scenes specially the one near Charminar.
- Satruvu (1991) : For its excellent portrayal of a comic villain (Kota Srinivasa Rao); an interesting blend of family drama with action and thrills, in tune with the latest technical values
- Bharath Bandh (1991) : (Once again) for its a terrific presentation of a new villain (Costumes Krishna) and tackling of a tricky subject
- Pellam Chebite Vinaali (1992): For its new presentation of an old theme, with daughter-in-law teaching a lesson to her father-in-law.
- Daddy Daddy (1998) : For its novel idea of showing snippets from an yester year film as flashback.
- Devullu (2000): For its unique concept of a divine multi-starrer film featuring all the popular Gods and deities. Backed by an excellent music score, this film stands out as one of the most interesting take ever on fantasy films, featuring kid sentiment.
Kodi Ramakrishna worked with almost all the top stars (including Mahesh Babu as a kid in ‘Gudachari 117′) and handled different genres. Other than a few films like ‘Devi Putrudu’ and ‘Anji’, he pretty much stuck to a budget and delivered hits to delight his producers and audiences. And his acting cameos were well received in several films.
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