Meeku Meere Maaku Meeme, starring Tarun Shetty and Avantika Mishra in lead roles, is directed by Hussain Sha Kiran.  Hussain is better known as the one who triggered off the idea of Nannaku Prematho in Sukumar.  For his first film, the touted talent has chosen to tell a coming-of-age rom-com involving teenagers.

Acchu (Tarun Shetty) is a B.Tech final year student who squanders away his time and energy irresponsibly.  A rich brat, he has a trusted friend in Kireeti (Kireeti).  Thinking that Acchu is naive, the intelligent Priya (Avanthika) falls for him.  He tells her the truth about his track record and thereby wins Priya's trust and love.  Yet, what Priya doesn't like about him are his immature ways and him hanging out with friends.  They share a 'tu-tu-main-main' relationship while being together.  There comes a point when Priya issues to Acchu an ultimatum.  He has to either discover the true meaning of love or get out of her life.  What does Acchu do now?  Will they ever come out with flying colours in love?  That forms the crux of the story.

The director comes across as someone who has a grasp of the psychology of today's youngsters.  He may not have made a 'Prema Ishq Kadha', a 'Second Hand', but he has a perspective of his own.  One is sometimes constrained by certain limitations, especially budgetary, and may be, Hussain's best is yet to come.

On balance, there is an interesting dose of healthy writing.  For newcomers, both Tarun Shetty and Avanthika do a fine job.  As for Kireeti, he manages to evoke laughter.  In fact, the first half gives witty insights into the mindset and dilemmas of the present generation.  The repartee in the first half entertains.  Without relying on too many characters, the director tries to convey his point.

A good thing is that there is no over-indulgence of anything.  Since Hussain is no star director, he is not pulled down by the burden of expectations, like a Shekar Kammula was when he made 'Life is Beautiful'.  The writer keeps the screenplay cinematic or slice-of-life, as the case may be.

The cuteness of the characters takes the front seat; thus, it is unlike the kind of slighted boys and calculated girls that we saw in films like Maruthi's 'Bus Stop'.

On the other hand, there comes a point when the emotional connect seems to go amiss.  While the boys' childish avocations like gaming are evoked in an intelligent way, certain gendered cliches could have been avoided.

Although Shravan helps the proceedings with his music and BGM, he could have done a better job with respect to some of the portions.  As for Surya Vinay's cinematography and Marthand K Venkatesh's editing, they pass muster.

Verdict: An attempt at making a coming-of-age rom-com.  Fine performances are a plus, funny dialogues are a plus, the lack of an emotional connect somewhere is a minus.