Monalisa Review

Mistaken identities as a story are dime a dozen in our films. In fact, they have become so regular that fans become skeptical when a hero or heroine says that he or she is doing a double role.

When you see Mona Lisa (dubbed from Kannada), you feel there is a reason for the skepticism.

In this no-surprises film, it is Sada, in the author-backed double role, who walks away with all the plaudits in a vibrant performance. The movie may have whetted her appetite but not that of a fan.

Dyan (Dyan) and Mona Lisa (Sada) are romantically inclined. But Monalisa, a daughter of rich NRI parents, is said to perish in an accident. So Dyan does what all the heroes are supposed do in such situations ---- hit the bottle with a vengeance.

And his parents do the routine thing of getting him married. The script then turns even more routine with the wife named Spandana, looking exactly like Monalisa. So our guy has difficulty in coming to terms with her. But by the time he is ready to, the ghost from the past, Monalisa resurfaces.

How and why? It is not difficult to guess.

Overall, there is intriguing about this Monalisa. It is a film that is at least a decade late. The saving grace is the inspired performance of Sada (more glamorous than she is in Tollywood). The special comedy of Kovai Sarala and Brahmanandam are plain irritating. Dyan the hero looks lost.

The saving grace is the glitzy production values and the camera work.

But otherwise, Monalisa looks like just an old painting hanging on a decript wall.