Bumper Offer (2009)

Cast: Sairam Shankar, Bindu Madhavi, Sayaji Shinde.. and others

Most people think of Bindu Madhavi as the Avakai Biryiani girl. Or, more recently, one of the Rama Rama Krishna Krishna heroines. To me, she will always remain the "Dirty Angel Aishwarya" :D

Bumper Offer was written and produced by Puri Jagannadh. Now, I'm not one of those people who think him a superb director because of Pokiri's success. I can find more faults in his movies than enjoyment, with the only highlight being the already mentioned Pokiri, and Bujjigaddu (though the remote is still ready in my hand to fast forward some scenes).

So it surprised me a bit that Bumper Offer is not that well known. But then again, it can't boast with starring Prabhas, Mahesh or Arjun. Instead, the lead role is enacted by Puri's brother Sairam.

The story is quite simple: poor guy and a rich girl fall in love.. though in a bit unconventional way. 

Now I'm going to be lazy and copy-paste my review from Bolly-what :D

Sai is a poor mechanic who gets beaten up by goons sent by Aishwarya, a rich brat. Although it was by mistake (she sent the goons to beat up a guy that teased her), when Sai confronts her she acts arrogant, so he slaps her. Now, I'm NOT a fan of girl-slapping in tolly movies, but she SO had it coming! I would have given her a second slap just for good measure!

What's she to do? Why, take a baseball bat, wait in a deserted street at night and attack our hero, who still needs a crutch to walk. Well, one thing leads to another and they fall in love  Problem is, she's REALLY rich, while Sai is struggling to earn for himself. Furthermore, his father works as an accountant for Aishwarya's father. When he finds out about their relationship, he gives Sai an ultimatum. He has to become as rich as they are in order to marry Aishwarya. Sai refuses and gives him instead a 'bumper offer' himself. He decides to con his future father-in-law and steal all his money, property and belongings, making him as poor as he himself is! :)

There are no really big twists in the story. Don't know how original it was.. I haven't seen many movies with this plot, so it was fairly entertaining for me to watch how Sai works his way towards his goal. The comedy track between Ali and the other guy was so silly I fast forwarded it all (it was a Magadheera spoof). The comedy in the main plot was enough to entertain me. I loved the guy who played the lawyer (played also Bujji's father in Bujjigaddu and an accountant in Rechipo), MS Narayana - he's becoming my favorite comedian in the industry :) The fights weren't too OTT, seemed pretty real with only a little wire work.

Sayaji Shinde played his usual role of a baddie father - The "How dare you love my daughter" typical corrupt businessman. He even has a second secret family! And a young son, the kid comedian from Pokiri/Ready/Oye. Bindu Madhavi was super cute as the arrogant Aishwarya. It was hilarious how she stood by her man and watched her father losing status and wealth. It was all good fun for her :D The actress who played Sai's mom was great. I didn't even realize she was a comedian until I saw her again in Desamuduru. I loved her reaction when her son told the family who he fell in love with - his father was ready to get a stroke, while she got this sneaky and satisfied smile on her face.

One of the main reasons the movie worked for me was Sairam. He was so cute in the movie - loved his hair and voice. I read in a review that his diction was poor, but I liked his voice so much and don't understand a word in telugu, so this wasn't a problem :D And his interaction with his onscreen mom was awsome. Just watch the Ravanamma song

The music was very catchy, and there was even time for an item number (no, not Mumaith!). I liked all of the picturizations.. except maybe the romantic number between Sai and Aishwarya, and that's got more to do with the white goris in bikinis and Sairam's wardrobe. The movie can boast with some of the weirdest (some downright fugly) outfits I've seen in a telugu movie. Really, what is it with the heroes that makes them wear those.. things. Can't they see? Or are they perceived differently by the local cinemagoing folks? Because no self-respecting man would get caught dead wearing those. I though it was jus Prabhas's trademark. You know, Mahesh is the Layers Prince, Arjun is Stylish Star. So I really don't see why they had to put those flowery pattern pants and cowboy hat with a huge star on Sairam. Luckily (or sadly?), some of the weirdest are seen in the music videos. The ones he wears during the movie are chuckle-worthy, but not eye-damaging :)

 

On the whole, I REALLY enjoyed this movie. It didn't drag, the main protagonists were great and the comedy was funny (except the comedy track.. go figure). The movie is on teluguone's youtube channel with subtitles, but they lag behind :( I hope they fix it!