Megabirthday 2011: Puli Bebbuli

There are certain people who could ask me to jump off a cliff and I would probably do it. So when BLB favorite Temple of Cinema Chaat put out the call for posts in honor of Chiranjeevi's birthday, an activity far less objectionable—and probably far more glitter-encrusted—than jumping off a cliff, I enlisted right away. Then I realized I don't own any Chiranjeevi films. And don't even know much about them other than what I have read on Temple's blog. And have personal experience with him only through song after amazing song, a selection of which you can see at the Masala Zindabad podcast page for the interview we did with Temple back in June. However, I am not one to be deterred from filmi fun by something so trivial as a lack of knowledge, and I set about trying to find the perfect Chiranjeevi film to write about. Several people suggested Aradhana, but I am too new in the field of Megastudies to appreciate subtlety such as that. Bring on the sequins, I say! Or, barring actual sparkle, at least some garish trousers and awesome dance moves!

One thing I do know about Telugu cinema is that I have thoroughly enjoyed the three films of K. S. R. Doss I've seen so far (as discussed in this episode of Masala Zindabad, along with writeups of Mosgalaku Mosagadu and James Bond 777). "Wouldn't it be great if Chiranjeevi had done a K. S. R. Doss film?" I thought to myself. The universe quickly provided, and I am pleased to add Puli Bebbuli to the Megafestivities.

As easy as it was to find Puli Bebbuli,* I'm having a devil of a time knowing what to make of it now that I've seen it. Different in tone from the romping glee of the other Doss films I've seen, Puli Bebbuli reminds me of Sholay with a big splash of long-lost childhood friendship to bond our two heroes, Gopi (Chiranjeevi) and Kumar (Krishnam Raju).** You'll know them by their matching tattoos.


As expected, they do not see each other's tattoos for several decades after they are separated as children during a fire at a circus. As grown-ups, Gopi is a jovial, scrappy street fighter (or something like that) and Kumar...I don't think Kumar does anything, since he was adopted by a rich man. But he too is tough and saves Sita (Jayaprada) from some bad guys, led by a man I will call V-Neck Villain,

This might be the Kannada actor Tiger Prabhakar?
who try to rob her of the money she is couriering for work. They fall in love and, in a scene that confused me so much I had to watch it twice (and I might still be wrong given the lack of subtitles), Kumar rapes Sita since, you know, they find themselves in a bedroom and a storm knocks out the power, even though she's not threatened with hypothermia or suffering from any other noticeable symptom that would "merit" Desai-utilized "concern rape" beyond being a woman that the hero is attracted to.

The screen is pitch black during this, but you hear her sobbing his name and when the lights come on she is crying and he apologizes.
Anyhoo, they later get married at a temple, so I guess we're supposed to find all this totally okay and still think Kumar is heroic.

Meanwhile, Gopi defends a different woman from being raped by a different villain (whom I will call Kurta Villain since he is more often more classically attired)

Thyagaraju?
and ends up in jail. After getting out, Gopi takes the same job Sita had and tangles with V-Neck Villain as well. Also mixed up in all of this is Sita's sister Radha, who is a K. S. R. Doss heroine of the variety I have met before—totally kick-ass!

One of the villains has—or perhaps they co-own, I'm not sure—a fantastic cave lair tricked out with plenty of room for dancing and stuffed tigers fiercely lit in red.


And in pleasing parallel structure, Kumar's family also has a huge and elaborate house

with tigers of its own.


There were parts of Puli Bebbuli that are really fun in ways I would expect based on the other Doss films I've seen. The director is up to his usual tricks of fun framing


and tipping the camera from side to side and swinging it around to heighten the action.


While this isn't quite the string of fights of James Bond 777, many punches are thrown and never quite in the same combination: we get Kumar vs. Gopi but in different scenarios, Kumar vs. a villain, Gopi vs. each villain (if I recall correctly), Radha vs. Kurta Villain, Kumar and Gopi vs. both villains, etc. There is also some legitimately funny humor, provided by the Megastar himself. In the scene below he marches V-Neck Villain's men around after defeating them single-handedly.

We expect no less!

As fantastic as I have found Doss's 1970s work so far, Puli Bebbuli is considerably different in its treatment of women. Sita is little but tragic victim/subject of action. Radha has some great rock 'em sock 'em moments but her participation in the finale—which would have been incredibly useful, since she's a strong fighter—is eliminated when the villains take off her clothes. She remains cowering behind a rock, watching the action but apparently feeling she cannot join in. I say "apparently" because I have no doubt that a 70s version of this story would have seen Jyothi Laxmi or Vijaya Lalitha somehow finding something to cover themselves as perfunctorily as possible and then leaping out from their hiding place to take down the men that did them wrong.

I think a real action heroine would have sneaked up behind one of the baddies playing sentry, stunned him with her...assets, clocked him, stolen his clothes, and flung herself into the fray. YESSSSSS! The Doss heroines I know do not cry and cringe, and they certainly not care for your definition of modesty or humility and in fact will fling them in your face to get what they want. They are, as my girlfriends and I say when we bet big in poker, knockers to the lockers (rather than balls to walls, you see). I hope I get to see enough Doss films to figure out whether this film is a one-off for his female characters or if this is a general change...and if the latter, did he want to have different kinds of women in his films or did he feel pressure to water them down?

Let's talk songs! I could not find a single one of them online, so we'll have to make do with my lousy screen grabs. It is Krishnam and Jayprada, not Chiranjeevi, who get the glitter in this film. SO MUCH OF GLITTER and big round things!


Also so much of lovey-dovies superimposed with charming hand-painted architecture!

Chiru's songs were very entertaining, showcasing his hip-swiveling moves and prowess at the "giddy-up prance"/"imaginary hobby horse" (Temple's and my terminology, respectively).


Ordinarily I might not spend much brain power on thinking how film X reminded me of film Y, but I've been wondering lately what effect Sholay had (and continues to have) on India's film cultures, so encountering aspects of it in Puli Bebbuli was a timely surprise. Without knowing the dialogue, I'm hesitant to propose whether the borrowing is mainly to capitalize on proven action and emotional elements. Based on what I know of Doss, he's an energetic, ALL IN director happy to make his own use out of elements from elsewhere. 'Cause let's be honest, don't we want to see Chiranjeevi kickin' it as a voluntary Thakur of Ramgarh by showing Kurta Villain who's boss using only his feet, his fists shoved firmly in the pockets of his belted leather jacket?

There's also a finale with our heroes fighting off a much bigger crew of bandits among desolate boulders that looks very familiar, though it's a film-logical enough thing to do that I would not be at all surprised to hear Sholay was not the first to use it either.

The comic relief even looks similar to Asrani's [note from Editor Self: I cannot even type this without adding "incredibly inappropriate and painful to watch!"] Hitler-esque jailor.

The soul of Puli Bebbuli seems quite different, though. It has very little of the heart-rending relationship between the male leads, instead giving them comparable but mostly distinct individual arcs that up the tension of their separation and the satisfaction of their eventual reunion. If there is a 1980s Telugu Sholay, this isn't it. Nevertheless, Chiranjeevi in a role that built out of the kind of good-hearted clowniness of Dharmendra's Veeru is a great idea.

For anyone who wants more Chiranjeevi + K. S. R. Doss (I do! I do!), this interview with the director indicates they did two more together: Billaa-Ranga and Roshagaadu.

* Not to be confused with NTR's Bobbili Puli released one year earlier. There's a useful and spoiler-laden plot summary of the film I'm discussing here.
** The internet tells me he goes by Rebel Star. OMG.

Comments

Temple said…
Thanks Beth :) And you see - you can watch Chiranjeevi and survive! It sounds like an interesting film. Something I am finding with Chiru is that he often brings a slightly more complex characterisation to even full on masala roles than I would expect. It's a shame he didn't get the spangles in this film, but as I have proven, he doesn't need a sparkly costume...or any costume at all :)
Anonymous said…
Ah, now I know where to begin my watching of Telugu films.
Anonymous said…
Did you say that you watched this film with no subtitles? My, how adventurous...I've only tried that with Paroma (Bengali by Aparna Sen, worth the effort) and Yeh Lamhe Judaai Ke (Hindi with SRK, but def. NOT worth the effort).

I'm not sure a separated brothers version of Sholay with lots of ravishing going on will draw me in, but I do love your description of it. Especially the sets with their luridly lit felines, and the nightclubs which look like a trip to Telugu Candyland with all those electrified Life-Savers candies in the background. Fun review, Beth!
larissa said…
FYI Krishnam Raju is known as Rebel Star while his nephew Prabhas (whose six-foot-plus frame and looong fingers are responsible for my downward spiral into South Indian movie fandom) is known as Young Rebel Star :-)
Temple said…
hey Beth - Puli means tiger so clearly KSR Doss was working to a theme on this film :)

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