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Vinara Sodara Veera Kumaraa Review

'Vinara Sodara Veera Kumara', starring Srinivas Sai and Priyanka Jain in the lead, is directed by Sateesh Chandra Nadella.  The film hit the screens this Friday.  Here is our review of the drama.

Story:

Ramana (Sai Srinivas) is a belligerent guy who picks up quarrels at the drop of a hat.  He and his parents (played by Uttej and Jhansi) are forced to migrate out of their native village to a nearby village.  

Working as an auto driver in the new place, Ramana is drawn towards Sulochana (Priyanka Jain), the daughter of an influential person.  

Meanwhile, an eerie development takes place in Ramana's life.  A kind-hearted ghost named Suri befriends him, residing very much with him behind a wall in his room.  

The crux of the story lies in the commonality between Ramana and Suri and why the ghost has chosen him to tell its story.  The ending has a heart-touching message.

Analysis:

Watching 'Vinara Sodara Veera Kumara', you can be forgiven for thinking that it is based on a poignant novel.  The writing department conceives engaging characters and atypical situations.  

Director Sateesh Chandra Nadella, in fact, does away with the standard template of story-telling to narrate a heart-warming story.  He doesn't shy away from keeping the scenes longish (this is not an unqualified compliment, by the way).  By and by, we are convinced that the director's conviction in the story is strong.

Tender emotions come through in the love story.  The situations involving Ramana and Sulochana, who is a victim of patriarchy at home, are narrated well.  Even the song situations are a bit different and, at one place, ironical.  As the lead pair make love inside a house, a bed-ridden old man dies due to prolonged illness.

The inherent message is delivered quite organically.  The title itself is a tribute to the fighter in all of us.  The value of life and why it's criminal to see everything from one's own perspective is told in a melodramatic way.

A big plus of the movie has to be the performances.  Sai Sreenivas (who was seen as Karthi's brother in 'Oopiri') is one of the most confident and able newcomers we have seen in recent years.   His voice is good; he shines in a relatively deglamourized role.  Priyanka Jain is a TV serial actress and she looks like the beautiful girl next door; her acting is able.  The other actors fit the bill.  Shravan Bharadwaj's music is a mixed bag.  The tunes gel well with the different situations, though.  The visuals are decent.  

Lakshmi Bhupal's dialogues make the cut.  This reviewer liked the natural way in which the heroine calls herself a 'Picchi munda' during one of the candid conversations with the hero.  It's not always that we see such moments in Telugu cinema.  Some of the lines are incisive but given the nature of the subject, they should have come with greater depth.  

On the flip side, the film does make some costly mistakes.  The run-time is prohibitively long (Note: This is how it was before the film released.  Unless the makers have chopped off some portions, this criticism is valid).  At least one song and a few unimportant scenes could have been removed.  It takes much time to find its groove, especially in the first half.  The scenes involving Ramana and the mysterious ghost lack depth at several places.

At one level, this film is a fantasy.  Perhaps, doses of dark humour could have been infused to make the texture richer.

If you are not given to lengthy monologues, this film might test your patience.  Also, be prepared to watch some of the lengthiest weeping scenes that Telugu cinema has made in recent years.  Also, routine tropes like stalking and the lecherous 'bava' (the Telugu cinema heroine has to be harassed by this character whenever the hero has to be shown as the better one) could have been done away with.

Verdict:

The film tells a heart-tugging story with reasonable maturity.  Efficient performances, engaging conversations, the storyline and the message are its pluses.  On the downside, the film is not entirely novel and refuses to rise above many cliches.

Rating : 2.5 / 5.0