Pelli Choopulu: Movie Review

Story:

Jobless, hitherto-irresponsible Prashanth (Vijay Devarakonda) attends a 'pelli choopulu' because his dad has asked him to get married. By a quirk of fate, the boy ends up staying with Chitra (Ritu Varma), along with a kid, in her drawing room as the door accidentally gets jammed. A frank Chitra tells Prashanth that she is not ready for marriage and that it's because of her dad's pressure that she reluctantly agreed for the 'pelli choopulu'.

Prashanth takes it in his stride and they both decide to have a no-holds-barred conversation about their past during the one hour they are in the room. From this moment on, the screenplay oscillates between their past and present, as the leads narrate their respective stories alternatively. By the time it's interval, the B.Tech pass guy (supplementary batch, you know) and the career-oriented MBA girl (she is not given to being aimless in life) have shared enough for the latter to discover there are similarities in their lives.  At this point, their elders break them the news that the boy's family is at the wrong place because they confused the address. It''s time for Chitra to forget Prashanth and move on, but she won't. The second half is about how Chitra takes the lead in reaching out to the aimless guy she had accidentally met, and the consequences this has for their lives.

Analysis:

'Pelli Choopulu' has no path-breaking story line, but what makes it a cut above the rest is its nuanced narration, and neat sensibilities. Debutante Tharun Bhascker comes with hands-on experience in short filmmaking and his intelligence shows in terms of the character sketching, the actors he has picked, etc. It's easy for most urbane-oriented directors to get carried away by the setting and have their actors give a stylized output. On the other hand, Tharun here lets his actors (mainly the lead pair and comedian Priyadarshi) be restrained. There is no trace of snobbishness in their body language.

It's learnt that the technique used is Syn Sound method, which offers the actors freedom, besides helping them be spontaneous. Tharun has admittedly succeeded in using it to the film's advantage. The writing is nuanced and substantial. Watch out for the scene in the second half where Prashanth educates Chitra's father frankly but unexpectedly even as Chitra  approvingly looks on from upstairs. In one stroke, the director avoids melodrama even while introducing us to Prashanth's inner personality and Chitra's faith in her man's innate maturity. He tops the scene with a funny line from friend Kaushik (Priyadarshi, a theatre artiste), who makes obvious for the audience the churn within Prashanth.

Another favourite would be the way Prashanth discovers life in cooking and lets his friends know about it. But when he has to convey the same to his father, Prashanth falteringly plagiarizes a chef's words. Scenes later, the father is peeved to  hear the same words from the good-for-nothing Kaushik, who is way better in reproducing the lines! Elements like the male lead and his friends failing at earning money through You Tube videos make the film an urban entertainer. The prank video comedy is hilarious. It bears a testimony to the director's talent that he goes for a role reversal in this scene: the funny Kaushik flops to scare, while the less-than-funny Prashanth convinces as a depressed, jilted lover out to commit suicide. Such surprises go a long way in reinvigorating the audience's interest in the proceedings. The screenplay style in the first half takes the cake for its wit. The scenes involving Prashanth as a call centre employee are hilarious.

The second half could have done away with some run time. The proceedings also slow down here.

Vijay Devarakonda looks handsome, but it's his acting talent which is even better. He looks sophisticated to be a lover boy and frivolous enough to be relatable; his dialogue delivery is quite everyday and guy-next-door - factors sure to make him endearing. The fact that the songs are montages in this film has helped him as well as Ritu. Ritu Varma, who was seen in 'Prema Ishq Kadhal', gets to play a full-fledged role. She shines in the role of a daughter who is frustrated at her father's stubborn, my-way-or-high-way attitude. Her acting talent comes through mainly in the second half.

Priyardarshi, who speaks in Telangana accent, has the audience in splits. He comes with total ease. Abhay, the other sidekick, makes a mark. Nandu is at his best in terms of looks. All the character artistes do a very good job. Music by Vivek Sagar is an asset, especially because the songs are not allowed to hinder the pace. Nagesh Banel's cinematography makes the film cuter. As writer and director, Tarun has shown so much promise. He is a talent to watch out for.

Bottomline:

Writing-wise and technically, 'Pelli Choopulu' is a first class entertainer. The film mirrors the attitudes of elders and aspirations of youngsters without sounding preachy. Told in refreshing way by the debutant director. Relatable characters, natural conversations, fun and clean humour has made the movie quite an enjoyable watch. Nice romantic movie after a long time.