A whiff of fresh air, after a glut of movies trudging the same cliché-ridden run-of-the-mill plot lines and mainstream tropes some of us are really tired of.
Now, one thing a lot of people are gonna feel about the movie when they walk out, is its connect to the food industry, and while that exists, in a manner of speaking, it is (unfortunately, to me) not the sole focus, and the link is, at best, tenuous.
The way they do not get into details the way The 100-foot journey /Cheeni Kum / Burnt / Chef (food trucks come from this one) / No Reservations / Ratatouille all do.
However, let's look at all the good stuff first. Believe me, most of the stuff IS good.
1. For a few, pace could be the thing. For me though, no matter how long the movie is, 'how long did it feel' is a key component of things I look for. For this one, it just zipped past, all thru, even when it did take the cliché-ridden route on many occasions post- intermission, and even overall, it clocks at a lean/mean 2 hours/so, even with an informal/blooper reel during the end-credits (a trend of sorts these days).
2. Feel that this could be a spiritual companion-piece to Shekhar Kammula's 'Godavari'. That one took 2 strong-minded leads, followed their respective trajectories, and using a road-movie template allowed us to watch things unfurl, while this one sticks to their trajectories, and watches things unfurl over there. Ritu Varma (previously seen with both Nani and Vijay Devarakonda in 'Yevade Subrahmanyam', this time reuniting with Vijay D) is almost a perfect foil for Kamalini Mukherjee (though not as cute/sweet/endearing as Kammula's muse), and while Devarakonda's & Sumanth's characters are polar opposites of the other, while having similar trajectories eventually, esp. when it comes to relating to their leading ladies. Of course, another movie with which this one has it DNA firmly in- place is 'Band Baaja Baaraat' (imho, Singh/Sharma have not come close to topping their performances from that one yet, in spite of all the accolades they've received for their later work, but their characters could not hold a candle to the lead pair in this one), with the milieu being changed from wedding planning to operating/running the business of food trucks.
3. The eclectic selection of background score themes and the songs that play in the background, that (gradually seem/sound to) fit each situation, and yet have something for everyone (everyone will not enjoy everything on play, btw), which is quite unorthodox, and kinda stood out for me. Disappointingly though, not all of the score made it to the iTunes album being sold. 1 of the best parts about the score though, is that they play out mostly in the background, and do not interrupt the flow of the narrative, sometimes looping over various sequences, guiding context based on the similarity of musical theme.
4. The production/set design, along with the cinematography, are pitch-perfect for the material on hand, and complement the narrative in just the right way, without calling attention to themselves.
5. The narrative style changes from the one pre-intermission (mostly contextual flashbacks) to the staid one that takes over post, and makes for an interesting transition. Keeps our interest going, for most of the time.
6. All the performances are good, and the screenplay gives the best lines to 2 relatively new character actors, 1 with a comic theme (Priyadarshi Pulikonda), and the other playing an unorthodox matter- of-fact kind of character, the kind that is rarely-seen in local fare (Anish Kuruvilla). Gururaj Manepalli and Kedar Shankar get the opportunity to weave a few interesting/unorthodox notes into their clichéed roles, and that is, indeed, something of a pleasure to watch. Short shrift is given to some (Abhay Bethiganti - I think there was some material there, and the lady who plays Anish Kuruvilla's daughter), but that's par for the course, I guess. The elephant in the room, is of course, what almost everyone has taken away from this flick, that of the deadpan-deliverer of the funniest lines in the flick - Priyadarshi Pulikonda. I won't say much abt it, other than saying that it's not just his success, and credit has to go to the writer/director equally, if not more - Tharun Bhascker Dhaasyam.
7. While I did not like the way certain lead characters treat the household help, in hindsight, the way it has been depicted does shine the light on cold fact.
8. One of my all-time favorite aspects about the movie is the way they've shot it in 2 of my fav places to dine out locally - Café D- Hide (for some reason tho, they called it 'Social', even though the sign is clearly visible), and Cinema Social (watched it in the same mall, coincidentally), and the time they take over there (which, for my money, was good, but not about enough). :-).
On the other side though, other than the movie not embracing its milieu the way it's apparent inspirations did (referred to earlier her), mature language is also allowed to be present, which is topical. However, it also points to the hypocrisy inherent in the local guardiansofthemovies, which would have muted/cut off the same words in an international production. Sigh. I also did not much care for the way Hash browns were used to signify taste, but will not talk about the context much.
Anyways, in conclusion, worth repeat viewings, on the big screen...
Now, one thing a lot of people are gonna feel about the movie when they walk out, is its connect to the food industry, and while that exists, in a manner of speaking, it is (unfortunately, to me) not the sole focus, and the link is, at best, tenuous.
The way they do not get into details the way The 100-foot journey /Cheeni Kum / Burnt / Chef (food trucks come from this one) / No Reservations / Ratatouille all do.
However, let's look at all the good stuff first. Believe me, most of the stuff IS good.
1. For a few, pace could be the thing. For me though, no matter how long the movie is, 'how long did it feel' is a key component of things I look for. For this one, it just zipped past, all thru, even when it did take the cliché-ridden route on many occasions post- intermission, and even overall, it clocks at a lean/mean 2 hours/so, even with an informal/blooper reel during the end-credits (a trend of sorts these days).
2. Feel that this could be a spiritual companion-piece to Shekhar Kammula's 'Godavari'. That one took 2 strong-minded leads, followed their respective trajectories, and using a road-movie template allowed us to watch things unfurl, while this one sticks to their trajectories, and watches things unfurl over there. Ritu Varma (previously seen with both Nani and Vijay Devarakonda in 'Yevade Subrahmanyam', this time reuniting with Vijay D) is almost a perfect foil for Kamalini Mukherjee (though not as cute/sweet/endearing as Kammula's muse), and while Devarakonda's & Sumanth's characters are polar opposites of the other, while having similar trajectories eventually, esp. when it comes to relating to their leading ladies. Of course, another movie with which this one has it DNA firmly in- place is 'Band Baaja Baaraat' (imho, Singh/Sharma have not come close to topping their performances from that one yet, in spite of all the accolades they've received for their later work, but their characters could not hold a candle to the lead pair in this one), with the milieu being changed from wedding planning to operating/running the business of food trucks.
3. The eclectic selection of background score themes and the songs that play in the background, that (gradually seem/sound to) fit each situation, and yet have something for everyone (everyone will not enjoy everything on play, btw), which is quite unorthodox, and kinda stood out for me. Disappointingly though, not all of the score made it to the iTunes album being sold. 1 of the best parts about the score though, is that they play out mostly in the background, and do not interrupt the flow of the narrative, sometimes looping over various sequences, guiding context based on the similarity of musical theme.
4. The production/set design, along with the cinematography, are pitch-perfect for the material on hand, and complement the narrative in just the right way, without calling attention to themselves.
5. The narrative style changes from the one pre-intermission (mostly contextual flashbacks) to the staid one that takes over post, and makes for an interesting transition. Keeps our interest going, for most of the time.
6. All the performances are good, and the screenplay gives the best lines to 2 relatively new character actors, 1 with a comic theme (Priyadarshi Pulikonda), and the other playing an unorthodox matter- of-fact kind of character, the kind that is rarely-seen in local fare (Anish Kuruvilla). Gururaj Manepalli and Kedar Shankar get the opportunity to weave a few interesting/unorthodox notes into their clichéed roles, and that is, indeed, something of a pleasure to watch. Short shrift is given to some (Abhay Bethiganti - I think there was some material there, and the lady who plays Anish Kuruvilla's daughter), but that's par for the course, I guess. The elephant in the room, is of course, what almost everyone has taken away from this flick, that of the deadpan-deliverer of the funniest lines in the flick - Priyadarshi Pulikonda. I won't say much abt it, other than saying that it's not just his success, and credit has to go to the writer/director equally, if not more - Tharun Bhascker Dhaasyam.
7. While I did not like the way certain lead characters treat the household help, in hindsight, the way it has been depicted does shine the light on cold fact.
8. One of my all-time favorite aspects about the movie is the way they've shot it in 2 of my fav places to dine out locally - Café D- Hide (for some reason tho, they called it 'Social', even though the sign is clearly visible), and Cinema Social (watched it in the same mall, coincidentally), and the time they take over there (which, for my money, was good, but not about enough). :-).
On the other side though, other than the movie not embracing its milieu the way it's apparent inspirations did (referred to earlier her), mature language is also allowed to be present, which is topical. However, it also points to the hypocrisy inherent in the local guardiansofthemovies, which would have muted/cut off the same words in an international production. Sigh. I also did not much care for the way Hash browns were used to signify taste, but will not talk about the context much.
Anyways, in conclusion, worth repeat viewings, on the big screen...