Tholiprema was a phenomenon when it released. Even though it was not new, story wise, it was fresh screenplay wise and narration wise. Many treated Karunakaran as the ultimate talent but he time and again for 22 years, proved that he is one film wonder and he is continuing to do so. Ullasamga Utsahamga, Darling worked as the comedy worked but still they were made with same Tholiprema formula in mind.
Plot:
Tej (Sai Dharam Tej) falls in love with Nandini (Anupama Parameshwaran) but the way she treats him frustrates him in the beginning but he understands that it is her love for him. He falls completely in love with her and that the same time, an accident occurs which forces Nandini to lose memory of Tej.
Now, he has to fall in love with her again and this time, he has to work double hard. While his uncle (Jayaprakash) still doesn’t approve of his behavior and is hurt by his decision, his love towards Nandini makes him also help in the Tej’s quest to win his love back. Did Tej win her over again? If he did so, how? Watch the movie for answers …
Performances:
Sai Dharam Tej once again showed his weakness in selecting a script. He seems to be in awe of those technicians who worked for his uncles and wants to work with them, no matter what. But he needs to concentrate on his body frame and the story requirements as well. In this film, he looked complete misfit.
Anupama looked beautiful but then she had to perform in her role. Under normal circumstances she could have done a good job. But in the race of overacting, she couldn’t really meet the needs. All others tried their best to overact and for their attempts to please audience with over action, we cannot sadly award them.
Technicalities:
I. Andrew proved himself as a good cinematographer. But in this film, he tried to concentrate more on pretty frames than story related imagery. One can only see bright colors in the film than the perfect mood setting for a romance to work.
SR Sekhar, the editor, seems to have tried to cut the film with all the bad possible takes and only scenes that prolong than entertain. If that was his goal, he passed out like Messi still like Argentina couldn’t go through this film too falls flat.
Music by Gopi Sundar is good for ears but bad for the film. While we may enjoy listening to them separately, in the film, they just irritate. On top of it, loud back ground score also annoys us.
Director Karunakaran made films that people enjoyed but then he made many such films that people rejected. He seems to just stick to his Tholiprema format and if one argues what new can be shown in a love story, one has to see films like Fidaa and Arjun Reddy, that reinvented the genre, in Telugu cinema. Darling Swamy, his writer seems to have taken a paid holiday while making everyone think he is working. Script wide and direction wise, the film just fizzles and fizzles nosediving into dark abyss.
Analysis:
Romantic movies are perfect during monsoon season but they need to have a story attached to them. They just can’t have two people roaming around streets and impressively beautiful locations, saying they love each other. You need characters to connect with and story needs to be strong enough for audience to invest. Sadly, Sai Dharam Tej once again chose a film for what a technician achieved before than the script he submitted now!
Rating: 1/5
