Noted hero Sushanth is marking his digital debut with Zee5’s original web series titled, Maa Neella Tank. Co-starring Priya Anand as the female lead, the series is out on the streaming platform today. Let’s analyse it.
Story: The series takes off with an episode where Surekha ( Priya Anand) is seen leaving her house. Later, the proceedings lead to Buchivolu village sarpanch’s son Gopal( Sudershan Reddy) climbing the village water tank and warn to jump off if his lady love Surekha does not return back. After repeated failed attempts from the villagers, a newly joined cop Vamshi( Sushanth) comes into the scene and promises Gopal that he will bring back Surekha to the village. What will Vamshi do to bring back Surekha? How will he convince Surekha to return back to her village? Will Surekha accept to marry Gopal? To know the crucial twists and turns in the narrative, you have to watch the series exclusively on Zee5.
Performances: Sushanth gave a decent performance in the cop role. His screen presence and dialogue delivery in the given rural character is okay.
Heroine Priya Anand shines in the purposeful role of a girl who loves to lead a simple life in her village. His dialogue delivery in the typical Nellore slang adds realistic texture to the proceedings.
Gopal aka Sudershan Reddy perfectly fitted in the role of a small-town guy who has only one dream to become a social media influencer. His comedy timing and funny dialogue delivery evoke laughs at parts.
Bigg Boss fame Divi Vadthya is okay in her extended cameo role. Other artists such as Prem Sagar, yesteryear heroine Nirosha, Inturi Vasu among okay with their performances in the given key roles.
Technicalities: Music by Naren RK Siddhartha is fine as his background score is apt for the situations showcased in the series. Editing by senior editor Kotagiri Venkateshwara Rao is okay.
The artwork by Raj Kamal is good as he has created the rural set-up nicely. The costume design by Leelavathi G reflects the rural atmosphere. Dialogues written by Kittu Vissapragada are apt for the context.
Analysis: Noted feature film director Lakshmi Sowjanya directs Maa Neella Tank. The director’s idea of showcasing the rural lifestyle and the mindset of the people in villages is good and tried to create curiosity among the viewers with the initial episodes but at one point the viewers feel it is like watching a single-point stretched narrative.
Though the lead artists gave a decent performance, the slow-paced execution adding to the lack of intriguing presentation comes as a demerit for the show. To summerize, Maa Neella Tank is a rural drama that looks like an over-stretched drama.
Verdict: Slow and sleepy!
Rating: 2/5
