Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju Review

'Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju' is not a run-of-the-mill film, yes.  But before saying it is refreshing, one has to  qualify the verdict.  Kranthi Madhav of 'Onamalu' fame has matured as a filmmaker for sure.  From dishing out Government ads-like film that was too bland and whose scenes seemed like awareness documentaries in service of Union Govt programmes/schemes, he has grown up to make a proper mainstream film that has traces of high-brow entertainment.  He is aided by his talented dialogue writer; thankfully, this writer's pen cures itself of a saccharine-emitting disease after interval.

Raghuram (Sharwanand) is an athlete who talks poetry whether there is a need or not.  He is the one and only son of a syrupy mom, whose refusal to make Badam Kheer for the wannabe national champion until he wins the national trophy, may have a subtle reason.  So far so sugary.  Then comes Nazira (Nithya Menon), playing hide and seek with the non-poet poetic athlete, revealing just her mesmerizing eyes for entirely poetic, romantic, non-religious reasons.

The entire first half goes on and on, delivering unabashedly unwelcome half-baked poetry.

Thank god for the second half, the film gets a non-sugary life of its own.  For once, lines are genuinely profound and do not seem out-of-place.  They are interspersed with the narrative.  Finally, the dialogue writer's lines are bereft of sugar rush moments.  Nazira one moment is beauty-conscious, another moment she is nervous, yet another moment she is seen defending her vacillation by saying, "Mata meeda levu ante, prema lo unnate."  For a good 50-minute stretch, the film keeps us engaged.  We love the philosophical attitudes of Raghuram and Nazira, we love their unwillingness to move on, we love Nazira's predilections as well as Raghuram's self-effacing, depressed talk of "I am a runner."

Perhaps, the director consciously added (more-than-necessary) heft to the scenes in first half in order to help the audience anticipate something like an unusual journey of the love birds.  However, he goes over-board and spoils the show a bit.  Especially because there is not much happening in the first half in terms of story.  The optimistic athlete talks saccharine.  The mom talks saccharine.  The girl talks saccharine with her friend.  The coach talks saccharine (what is the point in having a line like this?  "Ninnu preminche vallu neeku send-off ivvadaniki vastaru, nuvvu gelavali anukune vallu ninnu welcome cheyadaniki vastaru").  All through, we apprehend being bombarded by another sugar rush.  At one point, we wonder why the hero doesn't talk saccharine to the mirror to which the hide-and-seek GF reveals her beautiful face.

As said, the film must be watched for the second half.  It has captivating scenes and good lines.

The cinematography is fairly good.  What lacks is good music.  There comes a nikka song that would have been important for the film.  It's is wasted with old-fashioned music.

Sarwanand shines through the script.  He gets to play an author-backed role.  So also Nithya Menon, who delivers a mature one as a woman with a pathos-filled love life.

Tejaswini of 'Ice Cream' fame plays an apt role where she gets to display her spoilt brat side as well as embrace of pure love.  In her distorted morality, she presents a contrast to the character of Nazira.  Nazira finding herself confronting an anti-thesis is a brilliant idea.

Verdict: A good film with a must-watch second half.

Rating: 3/5

తెలుగు వెర్షన్ రివ్యూ కోసం ఇక్కడ క్లిక్ చేయండి