MEENA's Vengamamba review hit

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Cast: Meena, Sai Kiran, Sana, Sharath Babu, Sudha, LB Sriram, Krishnaveni, Ragini and others.

Banner: VMC Productions.

Cinematography: PRK Raju.

Editing: Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao.

Lyrics: Annamayya, Vengamamba, Veturi, Vedavyas.

Music: MM Keeravani.

Producer: V. Doraswamy Raju.

Story, Screenplay, Dialogues & Director: Udaya Bhaskar.

Release Date: July 17, 2009

Meena "Kani penchina talli tandrula kante kanipinchani aa devude neeku mukhyama," questions Sudha to Meena as Meena goes into a trance thinking of the Lord. Meena's cousin is widowed, her bangles are forcibly breaken, her kumkum is wiped out and it's a disturbing scene.

There is another dialogue that stuns onlookers as she asks, "A priest ties a mangalsutra to the goddess on the Kalyanam day. Does the priest become the goddess's husband by merely tying the sacred thread? Does the goddess become a widow if the priest dies, is her hair removed? Or does a man get his hair tonsured when the wife dies, why such meaningless customs for women, a husband comes only in between a woman's life, but the hair, kumkum, flowers are all there before he has come into her life, why should a widow be deprived of it?"

Tarigonda Vengamamba will appeal just not to the god-fearing or the devotees of Lord Venkateswara, it is bound to attract contemporary feminists too. Tarigonda Vengamamba is a saint, poetess and an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara. She was created on the insistence of the Lord's consort who wanted a female devotee to instill bhakti in the hearts of the people who were turning corrupt and selfish. Thus Vengamamba was born to the Kannala family and right from her childhood she believed that the Lord was her husband.

Sharath Babu and Sudha's daughter Meena who plays Vengamamba is married to her childhood friend Injeti Chalapati but the marriage is not consummated as her husband sees a goddess in her. Both the families want Chalapati to marry Vengamamba's sister but Vengamamba doesn't allow. The reason is revealed later lending credibility to her decision.

The film is neither technically brilliant, visually superior but the story and narration of the saint overshadows all the loopholes if any. The director never goes overboard or undermines the history of the character and the entire film is educative, informative and a revelation.

The first half of the film reads like a story book, and post interval concentrates on her works and contributions. It's interesting to note Vengamamba's fight against the anomalies prevalent in the society those days, her effort to weed out evil in an orthodox atmosphere, her views on female emancipation, etc.

SaikiranA wonderful script, dialogues that sound simple yet deep, fantastic work by Meena ensure that the audiences are glued to their seats.

Doraswamy Raju who produced Annamayya is back with his erstwhile passion for devotional films and kudos to him for bringing alive the work of all the little-known television artistes, the ensemble cast shine in their respective roles. Sai Kiran as Lord Venkateswara suits the role but his face looks puffed up. Comedy is subtle, in tune and flow with the story.

The director rounds up the film rightly explaining the importance of "Tallapaka Vari Laalipaata (Lullaby)" and "Tarigonda Vari Muthyala Harathi". Watch out for Meena's stubborn yet firm behavior when there is a personal upheaval, her poser to the high priest when he orders her tonsure her head. Keeravani's mellifluous music is ornament to the 'maha kavyam' of Tarigonda Vengamamba. It's a movie for all ages.