Taj Mahal

Here is another story of love for the Telugu audience.  Shivaji comes up with a challenging role, while as a producer, he displays even more guts.  Taj Mahal is not a run-of-the-mill love tragedy, but a melancholy story, with an element of risk in it.  This is one film which has not tinkered with the climax of the original.  You could say, the debut producer has allowed the story-teller in the director, carte blanche to be true to the original idea.

Ajay (Shivaji) and Shruti (Shuruthi) are studying in an engineering college.  The guy is in his final year of engineering and has been in love with Shruti for more than three years now.  As he writes in his dairy, he has wished her 'good morning,' 3300 times.  The girl cares a damn for him and on the day he invites her for a coffee, she asks, "What's your name?"  The Sandhya of Suswagatam is back, with a difference though.  Ajay may have wasted three full years worshipping someone who doesn't even care to know his name, but he has already swept her off the feet, as Kumar.

 Kumar is the guy Shruti speaks every morning, afternoon, evening and night over phone and is madly in love with him, though she has not met him once.  For Ajay, the problem is that he cannot dare to tell Shruti that the Kumar she is talking to every day is none but him, because Shruti declares in front of her friends that she will die by committing suicide if Kumar turns out to be someone with a cunning.  Her image of Kumar is one of a decent, guileless and gem of a guy.

Now, Ajay has no option but to make Shruti fall in love with him, so she gradually forgets his Kumar avatar.  What follows next is to be seen on the screen.

 The film is not a brilliant idea, but somewhere there lurks mild novelty in the film.  Arun Singaraju does a good job, but he should have tried to match up to the standards of Telugu cinema.  He should be appreciated for not injecting too much of drama.  However, at some places, the emotions fall flat.  Some crucial scenes have been miscarried, which make Taj Mahal a film low on style and appearance.

 Many scenes are technically inferior, while the departments of cinematography, choreography and action put up a second-rate work. 

The tragedy is that for all the uniqueness of the idea, Taj Mahal falls short in seeming a fresh product.  The conflict in Ajay - whether to continue his relationship with Shruti as Kumar or bid adieu forever and fulfill his responsibilities  - has been well-captured.

Shivaji puts up a credible performance in the second half, where his acting mettle comes to the fore.  As a college buddy, he is unpersuasive in the first half.  Shruti does a so-so job.  Kota as a poor farmer-father of Shivaji is adequate.  Krishna Bagawan and Chitram Sreenu are good.

Musically (by Abhiman), the film scores well, as the songs match the mood of the film.  Dialogue-writer rightly puts more of plain dialogue, as verbosity would not have fit in well for the film.

Taj Mahal is entertaining as well as dark.  Its subject matter doesn't promise too much of heart-wrenching moments, but it sure lives up to its own test and our ordinary expectations.

Released on: 20th March, 2010