Naga Chaitanya has matured as an actor and this is one thing anyone will notice in his latest release, Oka Laila Kosam – a simple romantic story, filled with a little too many coincidences favouring his character Karthik.
The story starts with Karthik (Chaitanya) topping business school and declining lucrative job options because he wants to travel and widen his perspective. A typical father (Suman), brushes off his idea. And both come to a mutual agreement – Karthik can take a year off and then make a decision.
It is in this one year that these coincidences occur, also when Nandu (Pooja Hegde) makes her presence felt. In the role of ‘daddy’s little girl’, she has done justice -- she looks cute, appealing and acts well. Accurate lip syncing has made her act impressive. She sure is here to stay. The film starts on a boring note, but it gets racy until the end of first half. The second half has too many elements which makes it clear that director Vijay Kumar Konda wanted to attribute too many characteristics to Naga Chaitanya – romantic while he is around Nandu where he gets the name of a star named after her, obedient around his father who is always forcing him to settle down in life, empathetic around friends, encouraging them to fall in love and hence spread it and finally a hero, who would not mind picking up a hockey stick to bash those who try to come in his way. Chaitanya though has done justice to the role, as a character Karthik is slightly overdone.
Another thing that comes in as a relief are Chaitanya’s dance moves that go well with the foot-tapping numbers by Anoop Rubens. Comedian Ali brings a relief with a lot of fresh comedy, minus any ‘punch dialogues’ that are currently trending in Tollywood. Song sequences shot in visually appealing locations add a lot of colour to the film.