'100 Days Of Love' is stuffed with cliches yes, but it also has elements that manage to at least let you sit through the film: Excellent cinematography, fine BGM, and confident performances. A rom-com made to appear feel-good even at the cost of being repetitious, it may come across as a dumbed down version of films of the same category.
The Malayalam nativity is writ large in terms of lack of comedy (yet the hero claims he has sense of humour), a BGM which at times sounds needlessly intellectual, etc.
Dulqar Salman plays Rao Gopal Rao , who works as a features writer with a national daily’s Bangalore bureau . He lives with his best friend from his college days Gummadi, (Shekhar Menon), a gamer. He just fell out with a girl and a supposedly outrageous write-up against his former love has gone viral, resulting in him being thrown out of the firm.
His staunch rival from his college days (played by Aju Varghese) derives a sadistic pleasure from his fate. Winds of change blow as Rao Gopal Rao bumps into a beautiful girl (played by Nithya Menon) on a rainy night and falls in love with her. Unable to forget her, he decides to trace her with the help of his gamer-friend.
The script is stuffed with several cliches. As for the pace, it proceeds in a lackadaisical pace for the most part. Aju Varghese and Shekar Menon's Krishnudu-dubbed character hardly entertain.
The latter half has clichés galore and sequences that remind you of the earlier films from the same star. Can urbane characters/dialogues, an affected exterior and the like save a film? The answer is a resounding no. The naming of the lead characters (Rao Gopal Rao and Savitri) is light-veined.
Add to that the fine performances from the cast and a very exciting wondrous camaraderie of Dulqar Salman and Nithya Menon. Dulqar Salman, perfectly plays the role of a metro centric journalist guy. His act in the role of a snobbish brother of Rao Gopal Rao, and in the climax as a clown, are the best acts. Nithya Menon, with her beautiful smile is going to make more fans with her charm and the beautiful frames that she adore.
The technical sides adds to the value of the film with some stunning visuals by Pradheesh Varma and mind blowing background score by BijiPal. Out of the three songs by Govind Menon which are fine hear, two appear unwanted just as to stretch the proceedings, and the movie may appear a bit more pacy devoid of them. Sandeep Kumar's editing could have been better. Ajay Mangad, who handles the art direction and Sameera Saneesh, who designed the costumes also deserve special mention.
Verdict: A rom-com made to appear feel-good even at the cost of being repetitious, it may come across as a dumbed down version of films of the same category. Can urbane characters/dialogues, an affected exterior and the like save a film? The answer is a resounding no. Watch out for Dulquer and Nithya.
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