Malli Pelli Movie Review

Naresh DK and Pavitra Lokesh’s off-screen relationship drew a lot of attention. This makes their collaboration for Malli Pelli far more interesting. The family drama is helmed by MS Raju. What Malli Pelli has to offer and how this is connected to the real lives of Naresh and Pavitra raises the curiosity. Let’s check out.

What is it about?

Narendra (Naresh) is a star who has crores of wealth and properties. But he has no peace in his life. His family life has been in trouble. His marriage with wife Soumya Sethupathi (Vanitha Vijaykumar) is on the rocks. This makes Narendra attract to his co-star Parvathi (Pavitra Lokesh). Parvathi’s personal life too has issues. How Narendra and Parvathi face the social stigma of love at old-age when they have respective families and how they unite forms the crux of the story.

Performances

Narendra’s role is close to Naresh’s real-life. So naturally it comes in handy for him to portray the role on the big screen. Pavitra Lokesh lives in Parvathi’s character. Vanitha Vijaykumar is shown as the baddie. Her character is completely negative, has psychological issues and is greedy for husband’s wealth. Ravi Varma plays Pavitra’s husband whose character fails to click. Sarath Babu and Jayasudha resemble Superstar Krishna and Vijaya Nirmala. Naresh calling Jayasudha as “Amma” sounds odd and looks weird on screen. But it is excusable. Ananya Nagalla as younger Pavitra Lokesh steals the show. She oozes glamour and sizzles in a rain song. Despite the limitations, Ananya leaves her mark. The roles of Tower TV owner and media reporters are alright. Actors who played police personnel are good. The film majorly revolves around Naresh, Pavitra and Vanitha.

Technicalities

Writing is entirely predictable. MS Raju’s direction is just okay and not a great addition. The film’s screenplay is flat. There are flashback scenes here and there. Songs could be better. Technically, the film is not so great. It is made with limitations.

Thumbs Up

Naresh & Pavitra
Climax
Second Half

Thumbs Down

First Half
Known Story
Melodrama

Analysis

The story of Naresh and Pavitra is well-known in the public domain. But Malli Pelli attempts to tell their story from their point of view (pov). It fills the gaps in their real-life story and retells it. For instance, there is the story of Pavitra Lokesh about her childhood, her family life. This side of Pavitra is promising to watch. There are such moments in the film. The film also delves deep into Naresh’s third marriage and what led to it. These make the proceedings somewhat interesting.

Director MS Raju narrates this story chapter-wise. It starts with The Flirting, Mistake, My Story and Krishna’s Story. The first chapter is about flirting where Narendra flirts with Paravathi. This has been aesthetically told. The love blossoms on the film sets. It eventually grows stronger as they become closer. The party scene could be better. The first half entirely relies on predictable story and lackluster moments. But there is fun here and there.

The second-half is where the real-story unfolds. The climax portion has the main hotel scene. Whilst many of us know the hotel episode, behind the scenes make it more interesting. The film ends on a good note. All’s well that ends well.

Malli Pelli is strictly for those who are interested in the lives of Naresh and Pavitra. It is about their personal life. The film is an unofficial biopic of Naresh and Pavitra. It is clear that makers want to cash in on the craze of Naresh and Pavitra Lokesh. People who are not so curious about the personal lives of the lead actors, this film could be saved for the OTT watch.

Verdict: Unofficial Biopic Of Naresh & Pavitra

Rating: 2.25

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