Jathakalisey is a stretch of an outdated idea for a good 133 minutes for the simple reason that there are one too many ''important'' issues to be sorted out by the hero, by the heroine, and by the heroine''s father. The importance of issues can''t be overestimated. They are as important as making five males with bad habits look like the worst creatures in Vizag, so much so even two civil servants call up the FM station which has done the expose and tell they wish to finish off the now-infamous five. In another scene that comes moments before the climax, the hero assures something important to the hero and in the next scene Shakalaka Shankar himself turns up to make things easy for our hero.
Ashwin is the CEO of a software company in US and he is in Vizag to attend his friend''s wedding. Along with three other friends, he ends up spoiling the wedding with the willing participation of the groom himself. Moments later when he meets Tejaswi as his fellow traveller to Hyderabad, he realizes that his image is in trouble because Tejaswi, whose friend is the bride of that failed marriage, took the issue seriously. With their image at stake, the five friends vow to avenge the boldness of the unknown person behind all the expose. Ashwin tries to woo Tejaswi during the journey, unbeknownst that she is the one behind all the expose.
As love stories go, this one is a joke taken too seriously by the writer or director or both. There is no trace of conflict in the story, nor is there any scope for mature emotions. In a fitting casting direction, Tejaswi (of ''Ice Cream'' fame) is selected to play the female lead of such an asinine story. She has that my-friend''s-immature-suitor-is-so-funnily-disgusting expression on her face.
Ashwin, too, fits the bill. Not much is demanded from him in terms of earnest expression and so, he breezily wades his way into the character. He either has to look like a mildly angry youngster whose male ego has been damaged or wear that half-hearted romantic expression. That''s all.
When the writer is high and dry with no substantial ideas, he banks on Snigdha, the comedienne who makes the matters worse with her accent. She is given a full-fledged role as though she is a Vennela Kishore. When the director has no substantial filler to fill the film with before the climax, he banks on a mediocre parody, pitting Srimanthudu (Sapthagiri) against Gabbar Singh (Shakalaka Shankar) in a force-fit scene.
Prithvi Raj, Dhanraj, and Viva Harsha are seen in semi-baked cameos.
The technical departments are not up to the mark.
Verdict: It is a stretch of a small idea to a full length film. The scenes are at the level of a short film made to give short shrift to entertainment.
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