Review: Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam

Mass Ka Das Vishwak Sen slipped into an all-new avatar for his movie Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam. He either appeared in super mass and rugged roles or in serious roles, while AVAK is about an introverted guy who is desperate to get married. The movie release was delayed for a long time due to obvious reasons and finally, it hit the screens today. AVAK is directed by Vidya Sagar Chinta and the story and screenplay are provided by Ravi Kiran Kola of Raja Varu Rani Garu fame. Let us walk into the review.

What Is It About?

Arjun Kumar Allam (Vishwak Sen) is all set to get married to Madhavi (Rukshar Dhillon) in an arranged inter-caste marriage. He travels to her village in East Godavari from Telangana, along with his family and relatives for the engagement. After an unexpected twist in the tale, Arjun Kumar and his family get stuck in the girl’s house. What happens after that and how Arjun finally gets married, forms the story.

Performances

Vishwak Sen appears as a soft and inferior wannabe groom and he did very well in it. His gestures and acts on how desperate he wants to get married bring the fun. Vishwak Sen proved that he is not just a tough guy but also can fit in well as a soft-hearted sweet chap.

Rukshar Dhillon hardly had any role or much dialogue in the movie. Though she is the face of the leading female role, her role is limited to a guest role. Ritika Nayak who appeared as Vasudha did well in her role. Though a debutante actress Ritika gets a meaty role and she is quite impressive all along.

Rajkumar Kasireddy, Goparaju Ramana, and Kadambari Kiran Kumar bring good laughs in the first half. Vennela Kishore appears in a short role yet he brings fun with lockdown jokes.

Technicalities

Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam is a very ordinary story, but the fun and conversations keep us engaged. The screenplay is good and so is the cinematography.

O Adapilla song is good and the background music is alright. Though Ravi Kiran Kola’s story appears a bit weak and outdated, most of the dialogues work well.

Thumbs Up:

Vishwak Sen
Ritika Nayak
Comedy In First Half

Thumbs Down

Weak Storyline
Slow In Parts of Second Half

Analysis

There were many films with intercaste love stories and protagonist’s marriage troubles. Arjun Kumar Allam’s story is not any different except that it is a story of an inter-caste arranged marriage.

The newness ends just there as the remaining story is mostly like any other family drama. But this Arjuna Kalyanam manages to keep the audience engaged with the fun stuff and entertaining conversations.

Arjun Kumar Allam who is desperate to get married for many reasons finally gets there only to find the biggest twist of his life followed by many unforeseen events thereafter.

The first half is filled with fun as Rajkumar Kasireddy manages to bring many laughs as a wedding photographer and Kadambari Kiran Kumar does his best after a long time with the Godavari slang and loud fun. Goparaju Ramana also brings some fun with his constant criticism and his episode of ‘sript’ went well. Even Vishwak Sen’s 150 feet joke also worked well.

While the twist is backed by the Janatha curfew of covid times, the scenes related to the lockdown are mostly outdated. Though there are some known and expected scenes, Vennela Kishore’s comedy works alright with the lockdown.

While the first half goes on mostly breezy with timely entertainment, the second slips into a bit serious and slow mood. Vishwak Sen goes into his usual style when gets drunk after the rejection and the dialogues there was fun.

After being rejected, the scenes of Arjun’s desperation to get married again and Vasudha putting some sense into his mind are shot well, even though the dialogues are old. There are some routine scenes like pregnant woman, market fight, etc that miss the freshness in the narrative. A song and a few monotonous scenes also drag the story though the audience could predict what is going to happen next.

Overall, Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam is a passable fun entertainer with a little message that one should get married when they find the right partner, not when it is time. With high-budget commercial films taking over the last few weeks, Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam can take us back to some middle-class fun and entertainment.

Bottom line: A Decent Wedding

Rating: 2.75/5