Mem Vayasuku Vacham Review

A failed love story is a stepping stone to a glorious love story.  Mem Vayasuku Vaccham seems to be saying this.  In a long time here we have a genuine, full-on love film, where emotions are carefully calibrated and romance is treated with utter maturity.  In saying that a jilted lover need not wallow in pain or allow himself to be consumed by the passion of separation, MVV also presents a story that is sure to tug at your heartstrings for sure.  This one may not be a coming-of-age story, but Trinadha Rao Nakkina's film is a superb attempt in itself.

Emotions are given due importance here.  The blossoming of love in the boy and that in the girl are two of the heart-touching moments.  Both are painful moments, so to speak.  Lucky (Tanish) confronts the reality that Dil (Nithi Taylor) is going to be someone else's wife, even before he has fully realized that he is in love with his new-found friend.  Dil's love for Lucky takes time to manifest, but when it does, it is a beautiful scene, where the girl cries out of heart unable to bear the life-long separation staring her in the face.  A never-failing performance by Nithi and a restrained acting output by Nitish make the film all the more refreshing.

The movie accelerates in an incremental expression of heartfelt feelings of first love, first romance, first pain.  When Lucky wins the love of Madalsa Sharma, the film slips in song-and-dance mode, complete with skin show.  But don't jump the gun and say, "This is another milk-and-water love story."  For, more is in the offing as the movie proceeds slowly and surely.

Lucky doesn't musters the courage to tell Dil, now engaged to someone else, that he loves her.  For the girl, it is Mission Impossible, because she never had any feelings for him.  The guy pleads her to be to the college for three days so that he can live with the memories for the rest of his life.  Late in the day, Dil listens to her heart.  What consequences do the young lovers, who come from different religions, come to face when they decide to marry?  What impact do the events/experiences leave on Lucky?

The writer-director duo deserves kudos for the many sublime moments they have given us.  The episodes relating to the Last Three Days are proof of the sincerity of the film.  Lucky's pain goes on increasing as the days pass by, threatening to annihilate him, and the director makes us feel his passion.  Nithi's minimalism is a treat to watch; behind the facade of her apparently wooden expressions, she is a confused girl living in denial.  Lucky wants to catch a glimpse of her after her wedding day just one time, but this will only push him into an abyss of torment.

Nivas' dialogues work fine.  More than Shekar Chandra's music and very good BG score, it is Sai Sriram's intelligent cinematography that deserves accolades.  He may not have rendered what PC Sriram lent to Ishq, but his camera work is a great asset.

Bhagya Raja's cameo is good.  Surya, Sana, Snigdha do good job, so also Kasi Vishwanath.  Rama Prabha's authentic make-up and dialogue delivery are praise-worthy.

The film falls short on humour.  Tanish's blokish body language at the present takes time to settle.

"In my opinion, the relationship between a girl and a boy can only be that of love, not friendship," Lucky screams.  All jilted and tragic lovers out there, cultivate this outlook, for you have a world to love!