Film : Majnu Director : Virinchi Varma Cast : Nani, Anu Emmanuel, Priya Shri Rating : |
It’s never easy to make love triangles. More often than not, filmmakers struggle to do justice to all three characters involved, with usually one of them getting a half-baked role. In Majnu, newcomer Priya Shri is the victim of a poorly etched out character. Virinchi Varma brings us a film that’s essentially a love story, but everything in the film works EXCEPT the romantic elements (which is more than half of the film). Despite Nani’s earnestness, there is just not enough depth in the love story to make Majnu work.
The film revolves around Aditya (Nani), who falls head over heels for Kiran (Anu Emmanuel) as soon as he sets his eyes on her. The ‘love-at-first-sight’ is so powerful that Aditya decides to forego a corporate job in Bengaluru and instead take up a teaching job in Kiran’s college in Bhimavaram, just so he can be close to her. The two eventually fall in love but soon things don’t go as planned. They start fighting and Aditya leaves Bhimavaram for good and vows never to return. Starting his life afresh in a new city, he meets Suma (Priya Shri) and falls in love with her (again at first sight). But as soon as he starts opening up about his past, he realises that he’s still in love with Kiran. Does Aditya get over his past and move on with Suma or does he still harbour hopes to reunite with Kiran? Watch to find out more.
While on the surface, Majnu has an interesting plot, focused around the ever-dependable Nani, the story falls flat in terms of execution. Unrealistic and predictable, there’s a complete lack of conviction in its telling. For instance, all Nani does is stare at Anu Emmanuel constantly, almost as if he’s looking at a majestic monument. It’s hard to imagine that girls would fall for such type courting, where the guy just stares at the girl, enters her house when she doesn’t come to college, follows her around pretty much everywhere and then tells her he loves her. The dialogues are super cheesy and tend to go overboard with its mushy content. The story drags on throughout the first half and is a big bore, until Vennela Kishore comes along and adds some life to it.
The humour is good in parts, with Nani himself doing a fine job (like he always does). The actor effortlessly plays the role of a guy who’s caught up between two girls. He shows his versatility yet again with Majnu. Anu Emmanuel gets a meaty role and does justice as the shy, reserved girl who falls in love with her professor. Newcomer Priya Shri hardly gets scope to shine in a half-baked character. Vennela Kishore appears for just 15 minutes, but they are the best 15 minutes of the entire film. His sequences with Nani are absolutely hilarious and are undoubtedly the highlight of Majnu.
Other than that, there’s not much to write home about. Given Nani’s recent run at the box-office and his choice of projects, expectations are rising higher with each of his films. Unfortunately, Majnu ranks as one of the rare disappointments from a Nani film in recent times. With a weak and unconvincing storyline, the film fails to hit the mark.