Ninnila Ninnila Analysis

 Ninnila Ninnila (2021)

Written and Directed by: Ani Sasi
Starring: Ritu Verma, Ashok Selvan, Nitya Menen
Cinematography: Divakar Mani

One complaint I had with a lot of Telugu films is that, if you take 10 random films and pause them in between where you can't see any actors or any important scenes of the film - you can't even differentiate between those films. There is no distinct visual grammar that films have. Every film looks the same. Ninnila Ninnila looks fresh, simply because of the reason that if you pause the film in any frame - you could say that it's a different film. The dehaze seems a little prohibitive to what the visuals could've explored, but the consistency in the visual language that it brings is interesting. The aspect ratio shift, the Indian portions still being like the recognizable Indian cinema frame - the London being back in the other format is interesting. I think they shot the London portions in a totally different camera, and a visual setup.   

The setting, the tone and the entire film felt heavily influenced by Ratatouille. Tearing up after having food, I've never experienced it. So it makes me feel like it's not something that would happen a lot. The film does it a lot of times, and kind of overused it. The plot turns into something interesting constantly. We getting to know that Ritu Verma is actually the head chef's daughter is a beautifully set up and paid off twist. The entire Nitya Menen track has a child like innocence in it. Although for some reason, I couldn't feel the loss as much. Ritu Verma was fantastic, I've always been her fan. She brings in a lot of emotional depth, even by doing nothing. She could just stand and her face can say a lot of things. That's a beautiful gift for an actor. The film doesn't mess up anywhere. It's a good, fun, feel good film. There's something missing in the film, which keeps it just one notch below excellence. I couldn't figure what.