'Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu' hit the cinemas today (March 4). The family entertainer is produced by Sudhakar Cherukuri of SLV Cinemas.
Story:
Chiranjeevi (Sharwanand) is brought up by his doting mother (Radhika Sarathkumar) and aunties (Urvashi and others) in a joint family. They reject too many alliances and Chiru is left in the lurch. When he finally woos Aadhya (Rashmika Mandanna), a mighty challenge comes in the form of her mother (Khushbu). What is the challenge and how does Chiru seek to impress her? That's the crux of the story.
Analysis:
Right off the bat, the film's narrator introduces us to Chiru's elders by calling them Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid and all. As the story progresses, the specifics that were deployed to introduce them become irrelevant. Everyone behaves almost the same (with the exception of Urvashi's character), walking in hordes and thinking in herds.
Director Kishore Tirumala makes use of Devi Sri Prasad's four songs in a span of 65 minutes or so. 'Mangalyam' plays out immediately after Chiru's childhood scenes. 'Awesome', 'Oh My Aadhya' follow in the first half. The title track happens immediately after the interview.
The cameo roles by comedians Brahmanandam and Sudarshan don't work. Vennela Kishore's bedroom comedy is hilarious, while Satya entertains in a scene. The attempt to create situational humour in the factory backdrop doesn't work.
The romantic track should have been more believable. We don't understand what exactly Aadhya likes in Chiru. It's not like she finds him charming and feels the spark when she sees him first. The plain conversations at times make us want something interesting.
The family scenes are undone by underwhelming writing. "Love lo chala important waiting," says Radhika's character. Such lines have been done to death in Telugu films. 'Who is this Gautham Kitchlu?' is hardly funny when most of the audience don't even know who is Kitchlu. Also, when there is a single parent in our movies, the writer can only think of giving him or her some obsession or stubborn trait. 'AMJ', too, does it.
Despite its flaws, 'AMJ' works at times because of emotions. The scene where Chiru confesses love inadvertently is well-written. Instead of a 'Dhaba' song after love failure, we have a 'family' song here. The light-veined characterization that Sharwanand is given is a whiff of fresh air. After all, we have seen him in serious roles in 'Sreekaram' and 'Maha Samudram' recently. The climax is impressive and will find its takers among the female audience.
Sharwanand's earnest acting finds a match in Rashmika's sincere performance. Khushbu and Radhika are good. Banerjee, Goparaju Ramana and others are given a raw deal. DSP's music and Sujith Sarang's cinematography live up to expectations.
This film has come just when family audiences have started coming to theatres. If the 'word of mouth' is positive, there is no stopping it for the next one week. The film should have tapped more into the comedy genre exhibited through the characters played by Vennela Kishore and Satya. Sharwanand's situational humour, too, should have been more effective.
Verdict:
'AMJ' is a watchable family film. Expect some laughs but the storyline is not awesome.
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