'Kundanapu Bommba' has a major disqualification: an old-fashioned elder who decides the fate of everything in the family. The crux lied in how this character was used inventively to enrich the screenplay. How much comedy can be made out of such a respected character whom most of today's youngsters would find unacceptably fuddy duddy? How much of evolution will this character undergo as the film inches toward the climax? Nothing. Actually, Nagineedu's character remains a fool till the end, never coming to know of Gopi's (Sudhakar of 'Life Is Beautiful' fame) true colours.
Suchi (Chandini Chowdhary) is the doted daughter of Mahadevaraju (Nagineedu). An over-sentimental babai-vadina duo, a sketchy mother, a weird servant (Jhansi as Kangana, speaking everything in 'Ka' language), an emotional loyalist complete the family. In the city, Vasu (Sudheer Varma) falls in love with Suchi at first sight. By a quirk of fate, this automobile engineer moves to their village as the seventh mechanic who must set a vintage car to normalcy.
A Tom-n-Jerry equation follows between this mechanic and the rich daughter. They both fall for each other. But Suchi faces a dilemma. Her father's big dream has been to get her married to Gopi, her bava, who has no feelings for her. The twist comes when Gopi arrives in the village to tell the family that he is ready to marry Suchi.
This one being a done-to-death story is the least of its problems. The comic timing is at least four decades old. The characters over-react - be they the child-woman heroine, the servant maid whose 'Ka' language is hardly funny, or the two over-smart kids pulling the hero's legs. Almost everyone overdoes it. The elder is too angry (with his brother), the girl is over-irked, some others are over-playful, so on and so forth.
It's not like Mullapudi Vara's sense of comedy is totally outdated, but the way it's enacted reeks of oldishness. Just take the example of Shakalaka Shankar ruining Gopi's plans by deliberately embroiling him in a fake murder. A good idea blighted by poor execution. It all depends on getting the casting right, being measured in mien, among others. Not for nothing it is said that comedy is not every director's cup of tea.
Vara shows his talent in some of the sentimental scenes. The scene where the Nagineedu-Rajeev Kanakala duo make up is an example.
The second half could have been interesting, but here too, the idea of a scheming 'bava' is unpardonably done-to-death. One wonders what the good daughter is waiting for when it is clear her 'bava' is a cunning fox. She fears for her father's mental health if he comes to know of Gopi's true colours. In that case, the film should have taken a different route, becoming a profound drama involving the daughter-father duo, for example, with the hero being a game-changer. Instead, it becomes a slapstick involving family members who fear that the daughter will elope - all intended to evoke laughter.
It's Sudheer Varma and Sudhakar's performance which is the good part of the film. Chandni Chowdhary is good-looking, but her dance moves and expression need to be in order. Nagineedu is more of the same. Rajeev Kanakala delivers a good act.
The songs are out of sync with the mood and backdrop. The BGM passes muster. The cinematography is OK.
Verdict: A story that reeks of the '80s style drama.
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