Uncouth Reflections

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes:

In “Eega,” one of the most successful Telugu-language films of all time, a recently  murdered young man, named Nani, is reincarnated as a housefly, then sets out to knock off his killer — who also happens to be courting Nani’s one true love, a plush, almond-eyed beauty played by Samantha Ruth Prabhu. The concept, which is something like a mix of “Ghost” and “The Shaggy Dog,” provides directors S.S. Rajamouli and J.V.V. Sathynarayana with a wide range of romantic, comedic, and action opportunities. These they seize with an eagerness that drives the movie forward. The scenes in which the insectoid Nani torments his rival, a heartless sensualist named Sudeep (he’s played by Kiccha Sudeepa, who looks like an evil M. Night Shyamalan), elaborate on that feeling of frustration one experiences when trying to rid himself of a fly that has colonized his personal space. And the filmmakers are mischievous enough to push this elaboration into areas both amoral and parodic. (Nani writes “I WILL KILL YOU” on the windshield of Sudeep’s car, and when his tiny bug head is splattered with blood, the way in which he wipes it from his face conveys Stallone-like conviction.) The CGI action sequences — particularly one involving a pair of sparrows possessed by something akin to the Black Sleep of Kali Ma — have a Spielbergian ingenuity, and they’re almost lyrical in the way they waft you from one surprise to the next; at one point the fly zoots through a coiled telephone cord like a surfer shooting the curl. Though the animation isn’t up to Hollywood standards of verisimilitude, there’s a satisfying continuity between its hard, artificial lines and the airbrushed unreality of the live-action material — the picture is a multi-tiered slab of flimflam. Not since Yar has a fly been so set on revenge.

“Eega” is currently available to stream on Netflix Instant.

Related

• Eddie on Bollywood musical numbers.
• According to IMDb, the picture’s Chinese title translates to “Kung Fu Housefly.”