Modati Cinema Review

Modati Cinema is an intriguing title for a film. That itself kindles the imagination for the movie. But debutant director Kuchipudi Venkat, who has shown enough promise in the film itself, does not utilize all the opportunities. In the event, what you get is a neither-here-nor-there kind of film.

It is a love story with lot of comedy elements thrown in between. But the plot is utterly predictable.

The film begins with Sriram (Navdeep), a devil-may-care attitude. He is rich and handsome with plenty of time to spare. He falls in love with Sindhu (Poonam). Now, her background is every-`dayish'. Her father is timid while her stepmother is shrewish. She seems to be caught in a cul-de-sac of fate. But Sriram wants to help her, but she rejected  it because of certain misconceptions. The rest of the film is all about how fate sets them up together.

As a hero, Navdeep is still to arrive. He looks good, performs with zeal. Yet he lacks the full-bodied presence to carry the film on his shoulder. But newcomer Poonam almost does that. For a debutante, she is thoroughly composed. She looks and acts with ease. She certainly seems an actress set for a good run.

The film's strength is its comedy. In fact, there is a gaggle of comedians starting with Brahamanandam. Sunil, Ali, Krishna Bhagawan and Venu Madhav are also there. Every one provides moments of mirth.

Yet, this is a film where the sum of the parts does not make a sizable whole.

Music by Swaraj is indeed sweet and soft. There is an element of romance in every tune. Good stuff. Ditto with Sameer Reddy's camera work. Sikkim on screen looks beguiling.

Venkat, the director has lot of promise. But the problem is he has managed to deliver only a percentage on screen. If only he had worked a bit more diligently, we would have had a much more hardy entertainer on our hands.