Several commenters on my reaction to the trailer of Allu Arjun’s new film DJ told me I should watch Arya 2 and Arya.
I’m super excitecd for DJ now after seeing Arya (2004) and Arya 2 (2009) over the last 2 days. Only Arya 2 is the MUST see movie, but you should watch the
opening dance number of Arya, to get a sense what a great dancer Allu Arjun is. Arya was his breakout film, and the debut blockbuster for director Sukumar — the guy who directed 1: Nenokkadine!
Like most Indian “sequels” Arya 1 and Arya 2 are not continuations of the same story thread, but variations on the same theme.
Arya 1 has Arjun playing Arya, and he’s in a love triangle with Geeta and Ajay and the setting is college. Ajay is your typical college tough stalker. He decides Geeta will be his and threatens suicide to make her date him.. Ugh. Arya loves Geeta but expects nothing in return. He even helps to get Ajay and Geeta togehter, etc. when her father wants her to marry someone else. Geeta is played by a former model, and she has only one basic expression the entire film — looking miserable. She has the charisma of a wet dishrag. Ajay is your basic evil boyfriend. Arya (Allu Arjun) carries the entire movie by sheer force of his cheerfulness, charm and excellent dance numbers
Seriously, Allu Arjun is THE best Telugu dancer I have seen yet. He dedicates Arya 2 to Michael Jackson, and he can MOVE. This dancing ability leads to great action sequences, because he’s really acrobatic in his kicks and so on.
I thought I had to watch Arya 1 to get Arya 2, but it’s not necessary as Arya 2 is a stand alone film, and not a continuation of the first film’s story. It’s amusing enough, and was a blockbuster hit at the time, but not nearly as enjoyable as the second film. The heroine is just so passive you want to scream, and the plot fairly regressive — except for Arya‘s selfless love.
It just made me appreciate Arya 2 all the more. To see how Allu Arjun had grown as a dancer and actor and the director! . I’m really glad I waited until now to watch Arya 2, because it is just that much more funny to me now!
Arya 2 is brilliant, because it is a total riff and send up of all the usual Telugu movie tropes. And it makes fun of them all, while referencing Darr and even has a white dog at a wedding JUST like the one in HAHK! But what the director does with the dog in the scene just had me in stitches. The whole movie is very entertaining, if a tad long.
First off, we start with Arya and Ajay as fellow child orphans and there is something off about Arya. He demands to be Ajay’s friend, and is a psycho possessive kind of friend. The whole movie is taking that brotherly Dost bond to the far reaches of the extreme.
They fall in love with Geeta at the exact same moment — and she’s played by Kajal who I LOVE, so she’s a spitfire and not a dishrag. They actually flip a coin for her, again riffing on sexist Telugu tropes over and over again, and mocking them.
There’s the forced wedding, the battling families, and on and on. And throughout Arya is mostly completely off his rocker, and yet still mostly likeable! It’s a great performance. And so great of the director to make the main character with negative shadings — he has his blown up Darr sized picture wall of Geeta in his room and all.
The whole set up is in a way similar to the first movie — Arya has a struggle between his love of Geeta and this time his possessive love of his friend Ajay. He wants them to be happy, and works to make it possible for them to be together — while occasionally slapping his own face to remind himself, “Have to give Geeta back to Ajay, Have to give Geeta back to Ajay…) Also, Ajay is not a cardboard villain type. You go back and forth in and out of sympathy with his shades of gray third wheel character. Kajal is sometimes a spoiled brat — and has a penchant for throwing down cell phones and breaking them, which I found to be a very funny running gag.
Don’t expect an emotional rollercoaster with crying and pathos. Expect to laugh and laugh — and be delighted by the clever action scenes, and the allusions to so many other films.
That comedy uncle guy, Brahmanandam is in it as the HR manager of Ajay’s tech firm where they all work, and he has a toned down performance — and was really good! I actually liked him in this one!
This Arya 2 number is just jaw dropping AMAZEBALLS!! Allu Arjun’s dancing is off the chain!
I’d still say that Prabhas is my number one in Telugu films, and Mahesh second. Alllu Arjun has the best dance skills by far, and real comedic chops, though.
But there are a few scenes that are just pure magic! The awkwardness and how young they look fit with the characters. Poor Chaitanya has got acne, and Samantha is so baby-faced!
Thanks to this film, I now have maybe my all time favorite line in an Indian movie. When the two lead characters meet in Central Park in NYC, they hug and then the guy says, “This is America! I can kiss you in the middle of the road!” And he does, repeatedly.
One of my followers suggested I try to catch Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo (Live Adventurously) with Naga Chaitanya in theaters this week, after he read my 
Pardesi Reviews 