Mental Madhilo

It is always tough to choose between two equally good choices. But when it turns out to be difficult to even choose your own shirt and trouser for the day? Yes, such people are called Confusion masters. They desire to have everything but none of that in choice. If you want them to go for a place they should just be given the ticket of a bus, train or aeroplane. They should not be asked which prefer as they cannot choose. Such is the person whom I met today and let’s know what happened in his Mental Madilo.

Plot : Aravind (Sri Vishnu) cannot choose even what to wear from young age. He needs to be just left with one pair clothes and he will be happy to wear it. He doesn’t really want to have any choices as they confuse him. Adding to this, he can’t speak to women openly as they scare him. At young age, one incident changes his outlook towards women and even though his father Prasad (Sivaji Raja) is open with him and encouraging to find a suitable girl for him, he even regets those who invite them for traditional wedding looks.

One day, one friend of Prasad arranges a meeting with Jahnavi (Nivetha Peturaj) and her family. She connects with Aravind and they fall in love. Due to on-site work, Aravind goes to Mumbai and there he finds another girl, Renu (Amrutha). What will he do next? Will he be able to to choose one? Watch the movie on screen to let the drama unfold.

Performances : Sri Vishnu as Aravind is got in parts but but not in entire film. He never leaves his character but yet times he seems to be too wooden. But in important scenes he brings out the best in him and we can say the actor tried his best in them. If the movie becomes a hit, he could be looking at opening up more and more in other films. He does need to open up even otherwise too.

Nivetha Peturaj is the backbone of this movie. As Jahnavi, she gets a good character and she uses to her best. Her chemistry with Sri Vishnu is palpable and she let’s her eyes speak more than the words. She syncs teeth into the character and we can say she is a find.

Amrutha as Renu, tries her best to infuse life into a rather forgettable character due to its misplacement in the screenplay. She needed much more support from writing but the predictability behind her character undermines her performance. Sivaji Raja comes up with a delightful performance as father to the protagonist in this film. His scenes provide the major comic relief and also, introspection to the people who face confusion in real-life. All others are okay on screen.

Technicalities : Cinematography by Vedaraman is good in the indoor scenes than outdoors. Mainly in Mumbai episode there are several inconsistent color palettes even in the same scene without much change in atmosphere or time. He needs to improve a bit more on using reflective lighting to avoid much confusion in the outdoor scenes. He looks really strong in indoor scenes that require him to create an ambiance.

Viplav edited the movie in such a way that it is a delight for those who just can turn off their outside activities and get sucked into the proceedings. Others who need movie to be fast enough can’t connect with this style of cut until the first half hour of the movie. Also, there are few scenes in second hour that just repeat what the previous scene did and it would have been better to trim it down further as the lag bogs down the movie and climax feels rushed.

Prashanth Vihari has the most important work among all the technicians as he had to give this love story a musical feel. There are many songs and he manages to impress with two of them. We don’t remember most of them post watching the film and Background score too is similar in nature.

Vivek Athreya takes a simple Love vs Attraction storyline and tries to twist itby adding confusion to the protagonist between the choices. In actuality, the screenplay could have benefitted with tighter scenes and few more non-regular scenes mainly in second hour. He tries to make his point at a leisurely pace by trying to give his second lead heroine much more screen space. That harms his film and story as it is more about the protagonist and his first lady love.

He tries to convince the audience, that it is entirely needed for the story but that becomes more cliched as the approach is dated. He tries to induce more and more life but artificiality kicks into the proceedings to make us wonder why couldn’t he turn more imaginative in coming with another style of conflict than an easier route like the one he took. However, he entertains and engages on the back of strong enough performances from leads.

Analysis : The movie doesn’t really come up with something entirely new and different as it tries to do with the take off. As many accept that romances on Telugu screen have become more and more routine, this movie too gets a pass for being cliched yet the same time a fun filled entertainer. It is breezy in first half and the fun portions make us glued to our seats through second half to guess out the conclusion. It is a good watch for wholesome family entertainment.

Rating : 3.25/5

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