Movie: Malli Raava
Cast: Sumanth Kumar, Aakanksha Singh, Annapurna, Mirchi Kiran
Director: Gowtham Thinnanuri
Rating:
Malli Raava opens at the marriage registrar office with Karthik (Sumanth Kumar), his childhood friend Subbu (Abhinav) and his parents waiting for the arrival of the soon-to-be bride ala Anjali (Aakanksha Singh). A visibly anxious Karthik makes numerous calls to Anjali which go unanswered. Minutes later, a nonchalant Anjali, draped in a silk sari, steps down from an auto only to say that she isn’t interested in marriage. Karthik, who left his job expecting to relocate to the US with her looks unperturbed and hide all the emotional pain. But his disgruntled mother breathes fire at Anjali.
Director Gowtham Tinnanuri opts for non-linear narration and the story oscillates between three time frames — 1999 — when Karthi and Anjali meet each other at a school in Rajole, in 2012 — exactly after 13 years when Anjali lands in Hyderabad as a project manager in the same company where her childhood friends — Karthi and Subbu work and later in 2017 — when she gets back to Karthik to extend her wedding invitation.
Cutting back and forth between the past and the present, the fragmented narrative is at times distracting as the story unfolds at a snail’s pace. The first hour is testing and makes the viewers feel longer than it is. The problem with the story is it is addressed from Anjali’s perspective and one would definitely sympathise her. Had the director cut into the hardships of the boy, things would have turned quite effective.
Karthik is a typical guy who is happy when Anjali is around and gets heavyhearted when she isn’t. On the contrary, Anjali is fickle-minded and torn between the apprehensions of her doting mother and her love on Karthik.
Subbu plays a perfect friend who lends a helping hand and shoulder to cry on for Karthik.
That’s not all, he also pitches some tricky questions to Anjali when she tries to get back into Karthik’s life. It’s a relief that the director didn’t try to incorporate over-the-top melodrama to ease the pain of the principal characters. The screenplay moves forward with a lot of entertainment flowing into the tale as the narrative shifts to Karthik’s office. In hindsight, Malli Raava is a light-hearted love story with a slice of emotions and laughter pangs.
The performances are immaculate and even the brief characters like Anjali’s father and mother are well-rounded. Sumanth is just effortless in bringing out his subtle act and presents his desperation for Anjali right. Debutante Aakanksha Singh is apt and played her part with sheer ease. Her chemistry with Sumanth looks fresh and believable. It’s exhilarating to see veteran actress Annapurna getting some prominence in the story. Her seemingly love-hate relationship with Karthik is something one would definitely relish and relate to. Mirchi Kiran provides some comic relief, while Satwik and Preethi Asrani are impressive.
Overall, Malli Raava doesn’t fall under so great and not-so-boring category. Go for this film if you want to relive your childhood memories and feel the bitterness of love.