Veteran director Raghavendra Rao is known for his exceptional song visualization and for the overall feel good entertainers that he makes. With ‘Jhummandi Nadam – Music is My Life’, he brings Manoj Manchu, younger son of Mohan Babu, with whom he shared a good track record a decade ago. Manoj Manchu on his own has had decent successes and will be looking for another hit that will make him a star in the Telugu film industry. There is also a new heroine, Tapsee, a rarity for Raghavendra Rao who is known to use Telugu heroines. And this film is said to be a musical so how can we forget the expectations set by a Raghavendra Rao – Keeravani film! So does ‘Jhummandi Nadam’ cut through the clutter? Read on!

What’s It About: Balu, a young and upcoming singer from Bhadrachalam comes to Hyderabad with an aim to become a singer as big as the great S.P.Balasubrahmaniam. He meets Sravya, an American born Telugu girl who is in India to make a documentary on Telugu culture and songs. She chooses Balu as her music guide for her documentary, though her uncle and dad’s friend Captain Mohan hates Balu, who happens to be his neighbor. Captain Mohan thinks that Balu doesn’t take his life seriously and he also doesn’t approve of today’s generation’s lifestyle.

Will Balu become a famous singer, what happens when Sravya falls for the talented Balu but is opposed by her dad and uncle, forms the rest of the story.

What is Good: The Songs – Period. The best parts of the film are its songs. Manoj Manchu as Balu justifies his role as a talented singer. Tapsee is bubbly, acts decent and fits into the director Raghavendra Rao’s typical heroine very easily. Seriously it isn’t usual that a debutant actress gets lots of whistles from audience in her introduction scene only!

Mohan Babu’s role in the film is important and all the scenes in which he and Manoj act together are extremely good. The senior actor’s talent is visible as he changes tracks from being a comedian, villain and as a character artist complementing and sometime elevating Manchu Manoj’s role. Together the father-son duo creates a laugh riot.

Add Brahmanandam, Ali, M.S. Narayana to the fore and there are some extremely laugh out loud situations. The comedy thread using the word ‘Nigraham’ (meaning control) could have come across as cheesy but it is because of all these guys that it becomes funny.

What is bad: The story line of the film is flimsy. The reason why the hero comes out of his home town to pursue being a star singer isn’t convincing. The screenplay takes the utmost convenient route possible, sometimes even becoming very predictable. But the veteran director knows exactly when to pull the strings and get the act going.

Technical Departments: The music director Keeravani and director K.Raghavendra Rao are the invisible heroes of the film. Keervani’s music is an asset to the film, and K Raghavendra Rao’s mark on each and every song can be felt. Together they make all kinds of songs that are available in Telugu making the film a thorough entertainer. The audience in the theatre sometimes got so involved that they started clapping and tapping in rhythm for few songs.

Art direction by S. Raghu Kulakarni is complemented well by S.Gopal Reddy’s cinematography. Dances are easy on eyes and anyone can go home and try the dances!

Overall the production values for the film look good, and Lakshmi Prasanna must be appreciated for making a good debut as a producer.

Final Point: A lullaby song, a classical song, a Sankranthi song, a marriage song, a usual Raghavendra Rao song, a folk song and then a patriotic song – we have all seen each kind of song in different situations and different films. But to see them all in one film, and then get some laugh out loud situations guarantees a thorough and wholesome entertainment. Watch it and forget the world outside for two and a half hours, and you will come out singing a tune!