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Released by: Aditya Music (Indian)
Released on: September 24th, 2013.
Director: S. S. Rajamouli
Cast: Samantha, Nani, Sudeep, Aditya Menon
Year: 2012
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The Movie:
Directed by S.S. Rajamouli in 2012, Eega (which means Fly in English) introduces us to a young man named Nani (played by a real life guy named Nani) who makes fireworks for a living. Across the street from him lives Bindu (Samantha), a beautiful young woman who works for a charity and in her spare time keeps active as a 'micro artist' (she basically makes really tiny versions of real life things). Nani has had a pretty hard time concealing the serious torch he carries for Bindu, and while she reciprocates his feelings, she buries them and pretends she's not interested.
Things change for Bindu when she goes to the office of a wealthy industrialist named Sudeep (played by a real life guy named Sudeep). Although he's the selfish and cut throat type more interested in playing with his guns than in helping people, he's attracted to Bindu and so when she approaches him for a donation, he obliges. He also takes this as an impetus to make her his possession. Blissfully ignorant of his true intentions, Bindu invites Sudeep out for lunch to thank him for his generosity, and when he notices she's paying attention to Nani, shooting fireworks across the square with his friends, he becomes visibly upset. Shortly after, while working late one night, Bindu calls Nani to come walk her home. He obliges but Sudeep kidnaps him before he can get there, taking him out into the middle of nowhere and after a serious beating, Sudeep kills him. Just before Nani passes, however, he gets a text from Bindu stating that she loves him.
From here, Nani is reincarnated as a house fly. Though it takes him a little while to adjust to his new form, soon enough Nani finds Bindu and Sudeep. Upset over what's been done to him, Nani starts terrorizing Sudeep, who is still making passes at Bindu. You'd think that Sudeep would simply squash this fly just as most people would any regular pest, but Nani is clever and able to use his speed and his size to his advantage. At the same time, he tries to get Bindu to realize who he really is. Once he's able to do this, Bindu is able to use her skills as a 'micro artist' to help Nani get his revenge, while Sudeep, becoming increasingly paranoid after Nani's attacks, enlists the aid of a wizard named Tantra (Abhiram) to help him get rid of the fly once and for all.
Even at almost three hours in length, Eega is a wildly entertaining film. The three principal actors all do a fine job (Nani is obviously killed off early on, so he doesn't have as much to do as Samantha and Sudeep) and the characters are interesting and amusing. Nani's a funny, likeable guy so when he goes, we feel bad. It works. Bindu is not only beautiful in physical appearance but the script makes her out to be a genuinely kind soul, the kind that works in the non-profit field to better the lives of the unfortunate. She's a genuinely good person and when she mourns the loss of the love she never had with Nani, we feel for her. Sudeep is just sleaze personified. He's lecherous and violent, selfish and cold. He wants Bindu because he's attracted to her, he appreciates her looks. This has nothing to do with anything outside of Sudeep's physical lust, there's no connection or deeper truth to his feelings. That he'd go so far as to kill someone who would get in the way of what he sees as a conquest he's entitled to obviously makes it clear to the audience that he is a very bad man. Sudeep, the actor, also steals the show, particularly in the scenes where the fly (which obviously didn't exist in real life on the set) attacks him. He never fails to completely convince us that he is being harassed by an insect and as Nani's assault intensifies to the point where he's written out 'I WILL KILL YOU' so that he can see it, watching Sudeep basically go insane from all of this is a blast.
This makes the fly's revenge all the more appreciable. It all comes down to the fly. While the little guy is obviously rendered completely in CGI and at times very obviously so, the digital artists behind the work here get full marks for creating a fascinating sense of movement. Yes, the fly does look like a computer generated insect and not so much a living, breathing creation but look past the pretty pixels and pay attention to the way in which he interacts with his environment and how, without any words, he's able to use body language to portray emotion. The people who brought him to life obviously put some thought into this, and so too did the cameramen. Lots of great oddball angles are used to show things from the fly's point of view giving the scenes in which he gets up to his tricks a real sense of energy.
What really makes Eega work as well as it does, however, is the inspired creativity behind it all. This is a pretty original idea, and it's handled very well here. The movie is ridiculously well paced and technically very well put together. It uses music in very effective ways, to enhance the drama and the tension and also to play up the romance that really drives all of the action that the film delivers (there are two song and dance numbers in the movie, for those keeping score). The soundtrack suits the picture well and the excellent use of color throughout the movie keeps things visually stimulating. All in all, this is just a really entertaining and unique picture, one that puts 'fun' front and center for the audience but which also takes enough care in crafting an interesting story and building some interesting characters along the way.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Eega is presented on Blu-ray in AVC encoded 2.35.1 in 1080p high definition and it looks okay. The biggest issue is the Aditya water mark that appears in the bottom right corner of the screen throughout the movie - it doesn't completely pull you out of the movie but you definitely do notice it and it is annoying. The colors look a little blown out, hard to tell at times if that's on purpose or not, and shadow detail isn't going to floor you but during the brighter scenes, of which there are many, the transfer shows decent enough detail and texture. This isn't reference quality by any stretch but it does exceed where DVD can't.
Audio options are offered up in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound or DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio, both tracks in the movie's native Telugu language with optional subtitles provided in English only. The lossless track here is decent, demonstrating good surround activity during the movie's many action sequences and doing a fine job of presenting the aural experience from the fly's point of view. Sound plays a very important part of making this movie work and while this isn't going to become your new demo disc, it does present well balanced levels, crisp dialogue and good music. The two musical numbers that appear in the movie have good bounce and presence and depth. The English subtitles are clean, clear and easy to read.
On the Blu-ray disc there are only menus that provide language setup and chapter selection. The second disc in the case is a DVD and here you'll find a documentary called EEGA Making that is presented without English subtitles but which features chapters dedicated to the director, the producer, the music director, the director of photography, the art director, the visual effects, the production, the styling, the villain and the celebrities that appear in the movie. You can watch these on their own or by using a play all function, and there's about two hours and five minutes worth of material here to sift through. The second disc also contains some shorter bits, including the 'Remix Special Song On Nani', a few theatrical trailers for the feature, three TV spots for the feature, and a 'Pride Of TFI trailer' section which shows off four different thirty second spots that start with a lauding critical blurb and then show some amusing side by side clips of the fly dancing and doing his thing on one side and some live action similarities on the other side. The Adityha watermark is in the bottom right hand corner for every damn second of all the content on this bonus disc.
The Final Word:
Eega is long and over reliant on CGI but it makes up for that with some really fun performances and an amazing, inspired sense of creativity. The perfect blend of action, horror and comedy with a touching romantic subplot, it's just a crazy amount of fun and the nearly three hour long running time breezes by. Good effects, amazing camera work, a great score and some remarkably original ideas and storytelling techniques make this Indian import worth tracking down, and while the Aditya Blu-ray may be a few marks off from perfect, it is at least a decent way to experience the movie in your home theater.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
