'Month Of Madhu' hit the cinemas on October 6. At the film's presser a day after its release, director Srikanth Nagothi and actress Swathi Reddy hit out at those reviewers who had "lazily" panned the film.
In speaking out against the negative reviews on the web, Nagothi asked who gave the critics the "right to give a verdict". Had Swathi not interrupted, he might have gone on and on. Film personalities should be the last ones to talk about the others' alleged ineligibility to give verdicts. After all, films pass judgements about everything under the sun all the time. Filmmakers offer instant solutions after making instant diagnoses of centuries-old problems. Everything simplistic and juvenile in films is passed off as well-meaning cinema.
There is a larger issue that the creators of 'Month Of Madhu' must be cautious about. Telugu film criticism is a polarized space where some films are afforded superlative praises by a section of the media (usually the print media), while the web media gives a raw deal. The eulogies of the former sometimes delude certain filmmakers into believing that they are saviours and gatekeepers of high-brow cinema. Years later, they prove to be one-film wonders.
Think of Venkatesh Maha. His 'Care Of Kancharapalem' (which was universally praised) was released in 2018. It has been five years and the director is yet to have a single straight, original hit. Think of Vinod Anantoju of 'Middle Class Melodies'. Three years on, he is yet to come up with his second film. Why does it take forever for these guys to make even small films? Praveen Kandregula of 'Cinema Bandi' fame is yet to come up with a new film.
When 'Naandhi' was released in 2021, Telugu film critics went gaga over its mediocrity. Vijay Kanakamedala's second directorial, 'Ugram', was a dud. 'Swamy Ra Ra' was released about ten years ago. Its director, Sudheer Varma, was hailed as a new-age filmmaker non-stop for months. He has yet to make a single hit since then. Chandoo Mondeti has made just two hits in ten years.
The director of 'Month Of Madhu' can hit out at critics all he wants, but all that matters to cinema as a whole is the durability of a filmmaker. There have been one too many one-film wonders about whom cinephiles and charitable film critics don't warn the newly-minted saviours of high-brow cinema.
