Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: UV Concepts
Cast: Santosh Sobhan, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Satyam Rajesh, Devi Prasad, Pavitra Lokesh, Kedar Shankar, Saptagiri and others
Music: Sravan Bharadwaj
Cinematographer: Karthik Ghattamaneni
Editing: G Satya
Director: Anil Kumar Aalla
Producer: UV Concepts
Release date: Jan 14th, 2023
Budding hero Santosh Sobhan is proving to be a tad different by choosing concept driven storylines instead of the routine mass hero subjects. This time, he has come up with a subtle line on married couple and whether he is successful or not, let us see.
Story
Shiva (Santosh) and Shruti (Priya) are a couple who fall in love and get married. While Shruti works as a software employee, Shiva is unemployed though he has good talent and potential. Few attempts at jobs also fail to work which make him a subject of mockery for his father. Yet, Shruti support Shiva. However, in order to make up for his unemployment, Shiva takes few decisions which complicate their lives further. What are those decisions and how it changes Shruti and Shiva’s life forms the rest of the tale.
Performances
Santosh Sobhan is a very fine actor. He is expressive, natural and has the right ingredients to become a content driven hero. Priya Bhavani Shankar is a keeper. She is not only graceful, elegant and expressive but possesses the right physical appearance which can make her a star actress. Despite this being her debut performance, she has shown ease, confidence and comfort. She will go places. Satyam Rajesh was good. Saptagiri made his presence felt though he had a brief role. Devi Prasad was impressive. Pavitra Lokesh was graceful. Kedar Shankar was apt as the hero’s father. The actor who did hero’s friend role brought few light moments.
Crew
The story didn’t have anything special or twisted, it was just a tale which happens in everyday lives of young couple. The script was straight and the screenplay was a bit slow. The background score was good and two songs were well composed. Cinematography deserves a pat as each frame was captured effectively and the color settings were superb. Editing could have been crisp. Costumes were trendy and the art department was colorful. The production values were sensible and unnecessary spending didn’t happen.
Hits
Santosh Sobhan’s performance
Priya’s beauty and performance
Music
Cinematography
Storyline
Misses
Slow narrative
Weak emotional quotient
Deeper Look
At a time when the theatres are filled with heavyweights like ‘Veera Simha Reddy’ ‘Waltair Veerayya’, one must admit that it took guts and conviction for the makers of this film to arrive in theatres. Hence, it is obvious that the film would find less attention and hype. While that is the external view, the film per se has chosen a storyline which didn’t require much thinking or creativity. A newly married couple and their ups and downs form the core of the story. However, what the director tried to communicate subtly was the element of trust that is required between husband and wife and how a supportive and understanding wife can change the fortunes of a husband and the entire family. The film takes off without much drama and gets to the point quickly. The first half goes off without any hiccups and the interval bang was alright. The second half continues with the same momentum but since there are not many twists and turns, the narrative appears a bit slow. Despite the fact that the run time is just 106 minutes, there are places where one gets a bit bored. If not for some really good technical values and the involved performances from the lead pair, the film would not have caught much attention. The sensible thing is, the film seems to be have been made at a conservative budget so the box office performance is going to be above average to even a hit range. The film is more suitable for mature and metro audience more than the masses. Given its ambience, it works well for an OTT platform than theatres.
Vox Verdict
Passable Marital Treat!
