Homam (film)

Infobox Film
name = Homam


caption = Promotional poster for the film
writer = J. D. Chakravarthy
starring = Jagapathi Babu
Mamta Mohandas
Mahesh Manjrekar
Madhurima
Pradeep Rawat
J. D. Chakravarthy
director = J. D. Chakravarthy
producer = Kiran Kumar Koneru
editing = Bhanodaya
distributor = Sri Venkateswara Creations
released = August 29, 2008
runtime =
language = Telugu
budget =
cinematography = Bharani K Dharan
music = Nithin Raikwar
soundtrack = J. D. Chakravarthy
country = India
awards =
followed_by =
amg_id =
imdb_id =
website =

"Homam" is a 2008 Indian thriller film written and directed by J. D. Chakravarthy. Filmed in Telugu, the film deals with the story of an undercover policeman. The film stars Jagapathi Babu, Mamta Mohandas and Mahesh Manjrekar in the leading roles while director Chakravarthy, Madhurima, Pradeep Rawat and Sakshi Sivanand portray the supporting roles.

Plot

Police officer Vishwanath (Pradeep Rawat) trains a young boy Mallikarjun to be a policeman. Vishwanath's intention is to wait until Mallikarjun is grown-up and trained well-enough to infiltrate the criminal gang of Jawahar Lal (Mahesh Manjrekar) as an undercover cop. On the other hand, Daddy picks up a street destitute boy, Chandu, when the latter saves his life. Chandu is trained to be a policeman on the other hand. After reaching adulthood, Mallikarjun (Jagapathi Babu) and Chandu (J. D. Chakravarthy) cross-over to their rival units and begin their undercover operations.

Against his desire, but due to respect for Vishwanath and his profession, Mallikarjun is forced to be part of the bad world of crime. Being an undercover, his hospitalized mother does not even believe he is a cop. While Chandu keeps helping Jawahar Lal (alias as Daddy) out in crucial junctures, Mallik tips the cops on Daddy's movements. The crime drama continues with the police on the watch out to nab Daddy who invariably continues to escape. One day, the police and Daddy's group realize that they is a mole among them. How the story unfolds here onwards forms the rest of the story.

Reviews

Released on August 29, 2008, the film opened to average reviews. "Rediff.com" thought that Chakravarthy fared better as an actor than as a director. While continuing in its discussion, it specifically commends Jagapathi Babu and Mahesh Manjrekar for their performances. The female actors, Mamta Mohandas and debutant Madhurima were dismissed for having added only to the glamor quotient.cite web|url=http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2008/aug/28ssh.htm|title=Homam is disappointing|last=Rajamani|first=Radhika|date=2008-08-28|publisher=Rediff.com|accessdate=2008-09-09] Another such review equally praised Babu and Chakravarthy for their histrionics. While discussing the technical aspects of the film, the reviewer thought that Chakravarthy "scripted the screenplay with perfection and did not lose grip on the story at any point of time."cite web|url=http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/telugu/review/10030.html|title=Homam - Different taking style from JD |date=2008-08-29|publisher=Indiaglitz.com|accessdate=2008-09-09] From certain scenes and filming methodology, another review thought that Chakravarthy's direction was influence by his mentor Ram Gopal Varma. While the music was termed as tasteless, cinematography and editing were acceptable by the reviwer.cite web|url=http://andhracafe.com/index.php?m=show&id=36145|title=Homam Review: Tollywood 'Departed'!|date=2008-08-28|publisher=Andhra Café|accessdate=2008-09-09] Overall, the film was rated as average and the review suggested that its plot was heavily inspired by Academy Award-winner "The Departed" (2006), an American remake of the 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller "Infernal Affairs". Director Chakravarthy corroborated this fact in an interview where he said that the Hollywood movie was inspiration to some extent, but his film varied in its narration.cite web|url=http://www.totaltollywood.com/interviews/Interview-with-JD-on-Homam_2494.html|title=Interview with JD on Homam |date=2008-08-27|publisher=Totaltollywood.com|accessdate=2008-09-09]

References