Film: Naanu Mattu Varalakshmi
Film: Prithvi, Malavika Mohanan
Director: Preetham Gubbi
Preetham Gubbi’s latest, Naanu Mattu Varalakshmi, seems to be a result of the director allowing himself to be influenced by his fears, that of sticking on to his passion for love. And knowing his knack with romantic subjects, he seems to have been too absorbed to give romance an elongated presence in his film. The result is a first half which is tediously slow, using the entire time to engrave his prowess with romance. The appealing segment is the next half, when Gubbi lets go of his adamancy with love and embraces some brisk paced bike racing.
In short, Munna (Prithvi) is a mechanic’s son who is passionate about bike racing. There comes a time when he needs to win the Chengappa Cup and to win over his love, Varalakshmi. Being an international race, he needs money and good training, for which he reaches out to Chengappa himself. Will Chenngappa help him and will he win his love forms the rest of the story.
Newcomer Prithvi fills the frame aptly and shows promise that will see him go a long way in the industry, provided he learns more of the art. Malavika Mohanan makes for a pretty picture, bringing out her emotions in bits. Prakash Raj has a small but profound role to play.
Sadly, Charan Deep, who plays the antagonist, doesn’t push the envelope. His presence is felt with a few dialgoues and so with senior actor, Madhu. Achyuth Kumar, Suchendra Prasad, and Pavithra Lokesh justify their presence while Sadhu Kokila’s comedy does not blend much with the story.
A couple of Harikrishna’s melodies add to the race and romance sequences with cinematographer Preetha Jayaraman capturing the landscape well.
The film which moves ahead on conversation needs a little patience, but there is racing that fills the gaps. It is left to the audience to choose the track of love or the bike race.