''Jaffa'' is a 2013 Indian
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
-language
black comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the olde ...
written and directed by
Vennela Kishore
Bokkala Kishore Kumar (born 19 September 1977), known professionally as Vennela Kishore, is an Indian actor and director who works in Telugu-language films. Known for his comic roles, he was given the moniker "Vennela" after his first feature f ...
. The film stars comedian
Brahmanandam
Kanneganti Brahmanandam (born 1 February 1956), known mononymously as Brahmanandam, is an Indian actor, comedian, impersonator, and voice actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is particularly known for his comic performa ...
as the main
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
for the second time in his career. The films also stars other comedians like
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
,
Thagubothu Ramesh
Ramilla Ramesh, better known as Thagubothu Ramesh, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Telugu films. He is a recipient of Nandi Award for Best Male Comedian. He got the moniker "Thagubothu" as he portrayed several roles as a drunkard. ...
,
Fish Venkat
Fish Venkat is a film actor who works in the Telugu film industry. He was born in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. He is also a comedy actor and he strongly uses a Telangana dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , ...
and even Kishore. The film is produced by
Ramesh Varma
Penmetsa Ramesh Varma is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter, who works predominantly in Telugu cinema.
Early life
Born in Bhimavaram, West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Varma finished his B.Com. from Osmania Universit ...
, with
Anoop Rubens
Anup Rubens, born Enoch Rubens, is an Indian film music composer who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He has received the South Filmfare Awards and Nandhi Awards by Government of Andra pradesh.
Rubens works include '' Seetharama Kalyana'' ...
scoring the music. Brahmanandam was supposed to direct the film on a script written by Kishore, but eventually he opted out and handed the project to Kishore, due to hectic schedules. The film, one of the most awaited Telugu films in recent times, was originally scheduled to release in 2012, but after several delays, the film finally released on 29 March 2013 amidst high expectations.
Plot
The movie starts with Jasmine Falguna aka Jaffa (Brahmanandam), a former software engineer, narrating his story when he was in jail. He befriends all the prisoners in the jail, and subsequently becomes their leader. When prisoners face problems, Jaffa is the one who solves their problems. Eventually, he also befriends the jailor Nikki (Vennela Kishore). Nikki has been trying to get a terrorist in his custody to speak, but Nikki's tortures eventually lead to the terrorist hanging himself, putting Nikki in risk. Nikki pleads help from Jaffa, who is still in jail, for getting his job back. So Jaffa and Nikki together plan for Jaffa to escape from the jail. In the process, Father Suyodhana (
Raghu Babu
Yerra Raghu, known professionally as Raghu Babu, is a Telugu comedian well known for his comic expressions and timing. He has worked in many successful films in Telugu industry. He is the eldest son of famous comedian and character actor Giri B ...
) is to be killed, and his corpse is to be placed in the coffin, and by the time the coffin is taken for burial, Jaffa will go inside the coffin. After the burial, Nikki will come to the graveyard to dig up the coffin and rescue Jaffa.
The movie moves to present day, where Jaffa is in the coffin. It is then revealed that, Nikki died when he tried to kill Father Suyodhana with poisoned milk, and ended up in the coffin. Jaffa, now trapped in the coffin has no one to help. Then he remembers that Nikki told him to call his friend Vishal if Nikki is not reachable. So Jaffa takes Nikki's phone to look for Vishal's number, only to turn the phone on and notice that the phone is configured to Hindi script, which Jaffa cannot read. Jaffa takes out Nikki's other phone, only to see that it has no battery. Jaffa now has only one option considering he can't read Hindi: Call every number on Nikki's phone.
Meanwhile, the police are searching for Jaffa, who is missing, and CBI Officer Katragadda (Ali) is on the mission to look for Jaffa. In order to get more information about Jaffa, Katragadda finds the three witnesses, who were prisoners in the same jail, but all three kill themselves before Katragadda is able to interrogate them. The rest of the story deals with whether Katragadda will catch Jaffa, and whether Jaffa will be rescued from the coffin.
Cast
*
Brahmanandam
Kanneganti Brahmanandam (born 1 February 1956), known mononymously as Brahmanandam, is an Indian actor, comedian, impersonator, and voice actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is particularly known for his comic performa ...
as Jasmine Falguna/Jaffa
*
Dhanaraj as Sujith
*
Vennela Kishore
Bokkala Kishore Kumar (born 19 September 1977), known professionally as Vennela Kishore, is an Indian actor and director who works in Telugu-language films. Known for his comic roles, he was given the moniker "Vennela" after his first feature f ...
as Nikhil
*
Shankar Melkote
Shankar Melkote is an Indian comedian, supporting actor who appears in Telugu films and CEO of a marketing company in Hyderabad. He started his film career with Jandhyala's ''Srivariki Premalekha'' and went on to appear in 180 films. He is one o ...
as Melkoti, Jaffa's Boss
*
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
as Detective Tapaswi Katragadda
*
Thagubothu Ramesh
Ramilla Ramesh, better known as Thagubothu Ramesh, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Telugu films. He is a recipient of Nandi Award for Best Male Comedian. He got the moniker "Thagubothu" as he portrayed several roles as a drunkard. ...
as Graveyard Caretaker
*
Fish Venkat
Fish Venkat is a film actor who works in the Telugu film industry. He was born in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. He is also a comedy actor and he strongly uses a Telangana dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , ...
as Fish Venkat, Police Informant
*
Saptagiri
Sapthagiri which is also called Tirumala Hill is situated in hill town of Tirumala, near Tirupati in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. This hill is 853 m above sea level and is about in area. It comprises seven peaks, representi ...
as Saptagiri, Prison Mate
*
Raghu Babu
Yerra Raghu, known professionally as Raghu Babu, is a Telugu comedian well known for his comic expressions and timing. He has worked in many successful films in Telugu industry. He is the eldest son of famous comedian and character actor Giri B ...
as Father Suyodhana
*
Venu Madhav as Alladdin
*
Ahuti Prasad
Ahuti Prasad (born Adusumilli Janardhan Vara Prasad; 2 January 1958 – 4 January 2015) was an Indian actor who worked in Telugu film industry. He was renowned for the wide variety of roles he played, including father-figure, comedian, and anta ...
*Giridhar as Giri, Prison Mate
*
Raghu Karumanchi
Raghu Karumanchi is an Indian actor who appears in Telugu films in comic and supporting roles. He acted in more than 150 films. He also appeared in several television shows, including ''Jabardasth''.
Life
He was born and brought up in Hyder ...
as Prison Mate
*Venu Tillu as Venu Bongula
*Sravan
*Harish Koyalagundla as Koyala
*Chalaki Chanti
Reception
The film received negative reviews from critics. 123Telugu rated the 1.5/5 and gave a verdict, "Jaffa ends up being a Jaffa film, like in other words, it is boring, slow and there is no rib-tickling comedy. In the past, Brahmanandam single handedly saved some films from being certain disasters. But sadly, even he cannot do anything here". Swathi of TeluguMirchi gave a rating of 1.75/5, saying that "Jaffa is a meaningless film, true to its title". GreatAndhra rated the film 1.5/5, and stated that "it sounds like a mad man's dream". The Deccan Chronicle said, "Overall, Bramhanandam's Jaffa is a disappointing film". Indiaglitz stated "Jaffa is strictly for the youth. If you are the kind who enjoys madcap humour which is logic-defying and grossly unsentimental, go for it with minimum expectations".
However, OneIndia gave a positive verdict that "Jaffa has no astounding story, but Vennele Kishore has created wonderful screenplay and has given good scope to every comedy actor to play their magic on you. The movie is a hilarious comedy".
The film was mainly criticised for its direction, screenplay and its dragging story, nevertheless, Brahmanandam's performance was appreciated by most critics.
References
External links
*
{{Ramesh Varma
2013 films
Indian black comedy films
2010s Telugu-language films
2013 black comedy films