Mem Famous Movie Review

Despite having relatively unknown faces in the lead roles, Mem Famous has been making good noise. None other than Mahesh Babu heaped praises about the film and shared his opinion after watching the movie. All these seems to have added to the buzz surrounding the film. Let’s find out whether the buzz is real or just created.

Story

Set in Bandanarsampally, a rural village in Telangana, Mai (Sumanth Prabhas), Bali (Mourya) and Durga (Mani) are goalless youth who pick fights for no reasons and at nights booze with his friend Anji Mama (Anji). Mai deeply loves his maradalu Mounika (Saarya Laxman) and Bali falls for his childhood sweetheart Babitha (Siri Raasi). Mai, Bali and Durga are trouble-creators in the village. When the world turns upside down, the lives of Mai, Bali and Durga are overturned and forced to stand on their own feet. The trio starts a tent house business which takes off well but hits the roadblock. This pushes their families into debt. How Mai, Bali and Durga overcome their hurdles and win their love and find their purpose forms the crux of the story

Performances

Sumanth Prabhas as the lead actor Mai carries the film on his shoulders. As a first-timer, he delivered a promising performance. He got ample support from his friends Mourya (Bali) and Mani (Durga). The trio nailed in their scenes. They effortlessly pull off the scenes of aimless and jobless youth. Saarya Laxman as Mounika is good as her expressive eyes do the talking. Siri Raasi as Babitha is easy on the eyes. Anji Mama nailed it with his show. His scenes generate a good dose of fun. His “enjoy” dialogue becomes popular in the film. Shiva Nandan is hilarious as lipstick spoiler who doesn’t turn up at school but hangs out with the famous gang. His candid video goes viral and makes him famous. Kiran Macha as Sarpanch Jinka Venu is a politician with heart in the right place. He helps the youth when in need. Narendra Ravi plays photographer Bhaskar and he plays his part well. Muralidhar Goud (of DJ Tillu fame) sticks to his usual role of heroine’s father Yella Reddy and he does justice to his character. All the actors delivered natural performances. The new cast brought a lot of freshness to the movie.

Technicalities

Writer-Director and lead actor Sumanth Prabhas juggles with different crafts and he succeeds in them. The writing and direction in the film score points. But the uneven pace of narration struggles. Kalyan’s music works for the film. He is also seen in a brief cameo. Goreti Venkanna’s song which comes in the second half wins the hearts. The film deserves better making and quality.

Highlights

Comedy Scenes & Dialogues
Natural Performances

Drawbacks

Dragged Portions
Predictability
Too Simple Climax

Analysis

Coming-of-age films have youth attention. Mem Famous, set in rural milieu of Telangana, falls into this genre. It starts off as a light-hearted film, but as the film delves deeper, the undercurrent emotion comes to the fore. The entertainment portions are handled well whereas emotional portions are big bore with cliches.

Mem Famous is about three youths who want to become famous and earn respect. The plot-line isn’t new or something extraordinary. But what makes the film different is its treatment and soul. The film’s heart is in the right place. But the portions are stretched out for the convenience. The scenes have the rawness and freshness of rural Telangana. The dialogues are hilarious and well-written. But the Telangana slang is not easy to catch up with.

The film’s story has two major conflicts – one belongs to the personal conflict of the lead actors and the second one is the water problem of Bandanarsampally. Both these conflicts converge. However, the second problem which is rather serious one gets sidelined and overlapped by the former.

The film portrays the fall, rise, fall & rise of the three youths. This journey of the protagonists holds key to the film. The pre-interval episode shows strength in the writing. While one of the lead actors Bali suffers a heartbreak, the rest three get the shocker of their life. This sets the tone for the second-half.

The second-half, however, reminds us of Vijay Deverakonda’s Pelli Choopulu and their struggle with the vlogs. Mem Famous has moments of nostalgia. Goreti Venkanna’s song towards pre-climax strikes a chord. It brings cheers and energy to the film. The songs and background score are impressive.

On the downside, Mem Famous has a rather predictable story. As the story progresses, it is quite easy to guess the next proceedings. The climax is simple and ends on expected lines. The film has its advantages and its limitations. The film’s narration struggles at times. The uneven pace of the film puts one off. Even making-wise, it doesn’t score points. It appears to be made for limited audiences. Overall, Mem Famous is a mixed bag. How it fares at the cinemas depends on the acceptance of youth audiences.

Verdict: Honest Attempt Goes Infamous!

Rating: 2.5/5