2.25/5
101 Mins | AHA | 14-11-2020
Cast - Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Seerat Kapoor, Tanikella Bharani, Pragathi, Rajeshwari Nair, Kalpika Ganesh, Kamal Kamaraju, and others
Director - Aditya Mandala
Producer - Sanjay Reddy, Anil Pallala, Keerthi Chilukuri, G. Sunitha
Banner - AHA Exclusive, Silly Monks
Music - Rohit - Joy, Sri Charan Pakala
Siddhu Jonnalagadda’s Krishna And His Leela is one of the better films to have released through digital platform. His latest film Maa Vintha Gadha Vinuma also seemed to be a breezy rom-com like his previous OTT movie. But MVGV turns out to be a major disappointment with pointless screenplay and dull narrative.
What is it about?
Siddhu is madly in love with Vineetha (Seerat), who reciprocates to his feelings. However, things take ugly turn when they get married in an inebriated state. The crazy marriage video goes viral resulting in the breakup of their relationship as well as breaking the engagement of Vineetha’s brother.
Performances:
Siddhu keeps it simple like always and he knows what works with his target audience. He did well to cater to them, but the self-written script lets him down. Seerat Kapoor looked very odd in this film compared to her earlier days. Her performance is just okay. Kamal Kamaraju and Kalpika did well as the other pair. Tanikella Bharani has got a significant role after a very long time and the veteran is in his elements. Pragathi and Fish Venkat gets noticed among others.
Technicalities:
Aditya Mandala’s direction is strictly average. Barring a couple of sequences his direction is very flat and lifeless. Of course, he is let down by the lackluster script penned by the protagonist himself. Being a director, he should have identified the shortcomings and corrected them before putting it up for streaming.
Most of the songs are played in the background and none of the songs make a strong impression. Background score is impressive, though. Cinematography is decent despite the low production values. Dialogues are good in parts. However, there are far too many expletives thrown into the conversations without any purpose.
Analysis:
Siddhu Jonnalagadda only had an idea to work with and he didn’t put in any thought into the writing as he tried to weave a story around it. The film is about how a viral video can shatter the lives of people that are in it and of those who are related to them. Siddhu tried hard to make this wafer-thin plot work with a screenplay that goes back and forth all the time. He couldn’t hide the shallowness of the script despite all the gimmicks. There isn’t one scene that stands out in the entire first half that is dedicated to establish a hapless love story between the lead pair.
It appeared like Siddhu has pinned a lot of hopes on the viral video episode, but that didn’t turn out as expected. The video itself seemed farcical without any viral elements in it. Siddhu yet again tries the back and forth narration method in the second half and this time he doesn’t even have a story to keep the viewers interested. Second half is about the breakup and reunion of the lovers that are separated due to the viral video.
Siddhu strongly believes that having cuss words and kiss scenes will draw the attention of youth. There’s earnestness in his approach towards contemporary romance in his previous film. MVGV totally fails to make a connection with the audience and goes from bad to worse as it moves forward. The message is laudable, but the way it is told is utterly disappointing. If the love story was written well then it might have worked to an extent, but the lackluster script kept on pulling it down throughout the runtime.
Bottom Line: #Fail
Tags Maa Vintha Gaadha Vinuma Siddhu Jonnalagadda