Written and Directed by: Sai Rajesh
Starring: Anand Devarakonda, Vaishnavi Chaitanya, Viraj Ashwin
Spoilers ahead.
Firstly, I want to start by writing about what I felt about the trailer - what bugged me were the dialogues which generalise. Anand's dialogue goes: "prathi kashtam mundu devudu edho oka signal isthadu, nee lanti ammayi okalla jeevitham loki vachinappudu assal signal enduku ivvade?". Now instead of this, if the dialogue was: "prathi kashtam mundu devudu edho oka signal isthadu, kani nuvvu naa jeevitham loki vachinappudu assal signal enduku ivvaledhe?" - then it would have been personal to him. This is one big issue in the whole film. "Nee lanti ammayilu" instead of "nuvvu", "maa abbayilu" instead of "nenu". This generalising dialogue seems like it's for the film to hit everyone, but it ends up making the audience feel either defensive or attacking instead of feeling empathy for the characters. Instead if the film treated the exact same story as just their story and makes us see them as individuals and not representing a gender - it would still hit and it wouldn't make the audience polarized.
Keeping this aside for a second, the film has a beautiful, endearing opening - which captures first love, the adolescence around it so well - and especially the song which has a chorus of children making the whole thing so innocent and beautiful. At this point, you'd want them to be together (if you forget what happens in the trailer). But post the premise kicks in, the film gets into murky territories. The thing about theatre viewing experience is - it's very tricky to crack grey characters - because when we watch the film as a crowd - especially as a hyper-charged crowd in a single screen - we tend to drop our IQs. The audience isn't in a space to appreciate nuances. It's either black or white. Which is why whenever Vaishnavi makes certain choices, the crowd jumps into a space where they want her to be called names. Though there were some inconsistencies with her character, I could see her. Coming from a small background, when she finds herself in the 'big' world - all she wants is some validation and attention - which she never gets from Anand. Anand treats her like a controlling father. So though she knows that Anand is part of her life, she strays in the process of trying to find her identity amidst trying to fit in. She loses herself. And in the process, a lot of irreparable damage happens.
Also, because of the way the plot progresses in the second half - them making a deal that she'll "date" him for a month and then he'll be okay & one of the biggest plot holes in the film - "I'll sleep with Viraj so that he'll finally let me go to Anand" - these plot points make this film less of an inter-personal relationship film and more of a conniving drama. How the film arrives at these points, didn't seem convincing to me - yes, the characters are naïve, but it's disturbing to watch naive characters make bad choices throughout the film. Apart from this, the film sets up the characters for them to face bad situations. But the way the film worsens the situations is a little convenient. Although, after all these conveniences it cracks creating one of the most disturbing sequences I've seen in a long time - Premisthunna song.
Keeping aside all these issues, the film is in the Malcolm and Marie space - where you say the worst things possible you could say to each other. The film operates on people's worst fears - need not be boys - but anyone who's anxious within a relationship. The performances were beautiful - especially the way Anand's heartbreak and pain was portrayed. The mindset of a person who's been cheated on was also captured pretty well. And overall, it was quite an experience for me watching the film. Though there were some issues with the film, the film landed for me.
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