MLA - Movie Review

What's it about!
Kalyan (Kalyan Ram), a good-natured guy falls in love with Indu(Kajal) as he feels both of them are destined to meet again and again. After usual rejections initially, she too likes him after he wins a challenge. Before telling him that she has started loving him, Indu needs to head to her home in Ananthapur. Kalyan follows her. Indu’s dad (Jaya Prakash Reddy) has decided long back that he would marry off his daughter to local MLA. How Kalyan Ram gets her is rest of the drama.
 
Analysis
 
"MLA" begins well and entertains with some good episodes. It goes well in the "meter" set for a commercial mass movie till the interval. Post, interval, the meter goes off.
 
The hero and heroine's romantic track as well as hero and heroine trying to dupe Ajay and his wife are handled interestingly in the first half. When Ajay grabs the land owned by Kajal, hero comes up with a 'blue-mat movie making' idea that engages us. Though nothing much happens, the first half is passable. But the movie turns into a political drama post-interval and the proceedings go in beaten-death manner.
 
It never comes back to the groove and ends as typical masala movie. Kalyan Ram has gone for complete makeover. Surprisingly, he seems to have acquired comfort in playing such regular mass characters as he has shown so much unlike in the past. He is the sole saving grace.
 
Kajal is beautiful. She doesn't have much scope to perform. Posani's comedy is lewd. Brahmandam has not done anything novel but his episode has generated good laughs. Prudhvi gets underdeveloped character. The film has rich production values and technical aspects. Mani Sharma’s music is just okay. Prasad Murella's camera work is good.
 
As a story, screenplay and dialogue writer Upendra Madhav has not shown anything exceptional. As a director, he has shown what many masala movie directors have done in the past.
 
Bottom-line: Kalyan Ram's 'MLA' is a regular commercial entertainer with decent first half. But it turns quite monotonous after the interval. Kalyan Ram's makeover is good, though.