Some other versions of such name pairs are Ram-Janaki, Bhoomi-Akash, Bhoomi-Sagar etc.
Or maybe there is a more creative solution coming along the way.Ī grouse I have with this film is the need to name the protagonists Surya and Vennela falling in line with Telugu cinema’s tradition of naming its protagonists in a way so that it’s rubbed in that they are a couple made for each other (or not). Maybe the modern crop of filmmakers wants to do away with songs completely but are afraid of the rejection from audience and actors. Last week I noted that writer-director Damodara struggled with songs in Pushpaka Vimanam and here too the director struggles to use them to lift sequences. Throughout the rest of the film the trio are complemented by the camera work and editing of Vidyasagar Chinta and Garry Bh respectively. The closest they come is the falling in love portions in the early second half of the film where they play a less believable and more mainstream love story. 140 minutes is a long duration for a modern rom-com but barring a cliched song sequence in the second half, the film never tests your patience. The trio has done a splendid job particularly in pacing the film. Lakshmi Bhupala is credited with screenplay and dialogues. The story directed by Mallik Ram is written by Prasanth Varma, whose other works include the impressive Awe and Zombie Reddy. And every time there is a scent of the sci-fi being overbearing the rom-com and drama ground the film. Every time the rom-com part of the film needs a bang, the sci-fi turns up like a knight in shining armour. The team has done their homework with getting its setting right. It isn’t just that the film ‘respects’ the audience and the story it’s trying to tell. Other than Predestination, there are elements of Back to the Future, Michael Crichton’s Timeline etc. A clock tower reference to Manam, a reference to Aditya 369 in the climactic portions, and I think even the psychological thriller aspects of 1- Nenokkadine - Telugu cinema’s biggest ‘if-only-it-was-a-hit’ movie. The film works as a rare tribute to all the great sci-fi works in both Telugu cinema and Hollywood. It’s not art like Predestination, which Adbhutham clearly is influenced by, but it’s a fantastic fusion with all the masala expected of a Telugu film. It’s the sci-fi angle that cements the film as one of the best entertainers of the year. If you judge it just based on the rom-com angle then this might have been a predictable film. Satya perfects the character of Prasad and gives us a whiff of what Sunil brought to the films in the 2000s, a decade where he perfected such roles. Even the ‘friend’ characters who serve as hero- ki friend tropes are present. The meet-cute, the separation of young lovers, the love-hate-love relationship, the hero drinking excessively, the heroine being pressured into a wedding alliance and the climax too.
The Telugu rom-com beats and tributes are all present, added with a mix of the unbelievability of Serendipity and the ignorance of the protagonists in Premalekha. The film’s protagonists on the other hand struggle to take a few leaps of their own too.Īdbhutham then proceeds to weave the genres of sci-fi and rom-com till the end and it aces the balance in its attempts. It’s also a signal that what’s about to follow is going to be in a magical space and we have to take a few leaps of faith with the film. There is thunder and lightning and magenta coloured clouds foreboding the perilous times to come. The film begins on a magical, Shakespearean note. It’s about how these two people solve this technical issue and a romance that brews despite being in two different places in life.
#MANAM MOVIE REVIEW IDLEBRAIN TV#
Right till the end, I was glued to my TV screen as I watched the film till 2:30 in the morning.Īdbhutham, a sci-fi rom-com, is about Surya (Teja Sajja) and Vennela (Shivani Rajashekhar) who find themselves communicating with each other despite having the same mobile number. When I noticed them, I thought they were careless production errors but I was terribly wrong. It was a fresh twist leading up to the moment and there were few clues lined up along the way too. If that feels like an exaggeration be prepared for a few more. Ībout thirty minutes into the film, when the ‘twists’ start rolling my jaw nearly fell. This applies more so to my review of Adbhutham.
Often, how someone reacts to a film says more about that person’s tastes and expectations than the film itself.