Mayabazar (1957)

Touches You

A Disappointing Continuation

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Great movie. One movie any movie buff irrespective of language should watch and this movie should be prescribed as a part of the curriculum for all the aspiring directors and aspiring cinematographers. The usage of technology and light is just impeccable. The way the story is weaved around the characters is jaw dropping. Each and every character shown on screen has an importance in their own right and it becomes even more important for the actors to perform better. So good was the screenplay. Marcus Bartley had combined with KV Reddy to create the masterpiece for generations to cherish. Naming just one or two actors from the movie is only an insult to the casting. 10 out of 10...by any strict standards.

I have seen this film as a child with my parents. I have watched this film with my Children. Thanks to the digitally remastered and colorized version released on 30th January 2010 making my job easier to suggest my grandchildren to look out for this film. Despite the limited technology during 1950s, Maya Bazaar can still get the attention of even current generations and get them by surprise with its cinematography, art direction and visual effects. No wonder CNN-IBN poll conducted in May 2013 listed it as the greatest Indian movie of all time. I don't think any review can cover even a fraction of Maya Bazar's details. It may not be out of the way to mention here that Singer P.Leela once said in an interview that while recording the songs of this film, one of the songs sung by her took 28 takes and the fifth was finalized by the Music Director Ghantasala who took over the position after the initial Music director S.Rajeswara Rao opted out of the project. As per the sourced information, S.Rajeswararao composed the tunes for four songs: "Srikarulu Devathalu", "Lahiri Lahiri", "Choopulu Kalisina Shubhavela" and "Neekosame" which were orchestrated by Ghantasala besides composing the rest of the film's soundtrack and the entire background score. Though each frame of this Film is a story by itself, I liked the sequence of evicting Subhadra by her brothers, the song during their Journey and particularly the War with Ghatotkacha and Abhimanyu where in the character Subhadra (Rushyendramani) picks up a poem angrily mentioning that she is the sister of Krishna and Balarama and also the wife of Arjuna making Ghatotkacha ( S.V.Ranga Rao) to realize that it is his cousin Abhimanyu (ANR) with whom he is in war with. That's just one out several impactive sequences. It's hard to mark the film's genre as the story involves all aspects from the genres of action to drama and comedy to science fiction. Big Salute to all those great people behind this greatest Indian movie of all time, whichever the world they are in today.

Perhaps the complete cinema in its era, Mayabazar with its stellar cast continues to amaze the Telugu audience till date... If the Telugu film industry can be divided into two eras then, it would be Pre and Post Mayabazar... That's how big the movie is... It was, it is and it will remain the CLASSIC for eternity... It has big heavy weights of Telugu Film Industry donning in various roles... ANR as Abhimanyu; SVR as Ghatothkacha and above all NTR donning the role of Lord Krishna.... Particularly NTR's subtle dialogue delivery and magnificent stature lights up the frame when he is there... The ever gorgeous Savithri is at her best... Adorable beauty she remains... To sum it all, the events in the Movie do not truly depict of what happened in Mahabharata (The Epic of Hindu Mythology)... The likes of K.V. Reddy came out with a brilliant idea of weaving a small skit in the form of MAYABAZAR... The stand out point in the movie is "Marcus Bartley's" stunning light effects for the song "Lahiri Lahiri Lo..." The frame has been caught to perfection in every minute detail.. Hats off to that... The movie was digitally remastered in color in the year 2008. They had to do away with some editing as the original movie tape was badly damaged in the testimony of time.. The newer version is Nevertheless, it lived up to its expectations... The movie came out exceptionally well and K.V.Reddy would have been proud of that.. If Moghal-E-Azam is to Hindi Film Industry then, the south India claims to have Mayabazar ... If a person were to draw comparison, then that would be it.. Both were magnum opus in their own way... Go ahead and watch it in color and be enthralled !!! I will give it 10 out of 10... I consider myself blessed to have been born in the MAYABAZAR era....

You are not alone in thinking this is the best movie ever made, rgulla. In a poll conducted in AP, this movie was voted the best telugu movie ever made, and I totally agree.What makes this movie fascinating is, in my opinion, this is only movie ever made that speaks to all ages at the same time. Harry potter is a children's' movie, we all know that. Similarly there are adult, young people's movies etc. But this is the only movie that a child can see for the magic and Gatothkacha. A young adult will watch the love story, and finally, an older adult will see the interaction between the two families, the politics that are played out. To top it off, for the retired person, this is a religious movie! No other movie, in any other language, is able to reach out to every moviegoer of every age.