'Andaru Bagundali Andulo Nenundali' is currently streaming on Aha. In this section, we are going to review the latest direct-to-streamer release.

Story:

Srinivas Rao (senior Naresh) is a hearing, speech-impaired government employee. His wife (Pavithra Lokesh) and his daughter are his life. When his little son gets hospitalized, Rao loses sleep for 48 hours at a stretch. On his way back home, he sleeps hard without being conscious of the situation around him on the metro rail. This leads to an unexpected turn of events when Sameer (Ali), a Dubai returnee who is a co-traveller, clicks him and posts his pic on social media. Rao and his family soon lose their peace of mind as a consequence of this.

Analysis:

This one is a remake of the Malayalam movie 'Vikruthi' (2019), which was remade in Tamil as 'Payanigal Gavanikkavum' before being remade in Telugu by actor-producer Ali. Like a lot of acclaimed Malayalam movies, this film too suffers from pacing issues. The storyline lends itself to building a nice dramedy but the screenplay is lacklustre.

At more than 140 minutes, the film is too sluggish for its own good. The initial portions, up to the first 15 minutes, are narrated in a self-assured manner. Once Ali's character steps in, the film squanders away its potential, resting the laurels of its source material. This one should have been an adaptation rather than a remake in tune with the tastes and sensibilities of the Telugu audience. For example, we don't quite appreciate a slow-paced journey from love to wedding of a character artist. On the other hand, the average Malayalam audience wouldn't mind following such a story.

The film finds its feet after a dreary hour-long drudgery only in the final 20 minutes or so. Even here, the stakes are not raised in terms of background score or music. The montage song that is played is a version of the one seen during the opening credits.

Rakesh Pazhedam's music doesn't rise above the minimalism of the film. The cinematography is TV soap-ish at best. Ali has been miscast. Granted that he is the film's producer who needed to save some money on remuneration, but the largely non-commercial, uncinematic role didn't suit him. VK Naresh is the film's soul. As a deaf and dumb father, he shines through a weak script. Pavithra Lokesh, who plays his wife, is a letdown. Mouryani, as Ali's girlfriend-turned-wife, is beautiful. Bhadram's comedy is below average. Prudhviraj has a cameo. Tanikella Bharani has got an old-school role.

Verdict:

'Andaru Bagundali Andulo Nenundali' is an uninspired remake with an excellent storyline but a sub-par screenplay.