Director Shiva Nirvana’s Majili is a far-from-perfect film, but it has honesty and sincerity, which is mostly missing in our films today. The film has characters so likeable and relatable that it’s hard to judge them even when they do foolish things.
Naga Chaitanya is Poorna, a middle-class boy, who aspires to play for the Indian cricket team. He bumps into Anshu (Divyansha Kaushik), the daughter of a Naval officer (Atul Kulkarni) in an awkward situation.
They become close friends and their friendship blossoms into romance, but her love for him remains platonic. But just as things are looking up for them, a series of unforeseeable events pose a threat to Poorna’s love life and destroys his career. He loses the battle with his heart and head and unable to come to terms with reality, he hits the bottle.
Amid emotional upheaval and despair, he marries Sravani (Samantha Akkineni), but his heart still yearns for his unattainable girlfriend, who has moved away from Visakhapatnam. Poorna hardly speaks to Sravani, but she is in love with him as well. That way, they both suffer from the bitter pain of unrequited love.
Despite several hiccups, especially in the first hour, Majili is a commendable effort if only for how Shiva depicts this story of love and pain.
The love stories at the core of this film are complex, and the narrative doesn’t offer a solution either. You can see Poorna coming alive each time he remembers Anshu, whereas when he is with his wife or father, he sits poker-faced, prone to violent outbursts and lost in a morass of grief. It’s quite evident that Shiva has beautifully conceived his characters and gives us some moments to understand them better.
Like a scene in which Poorna retaliates to an attack at the party office and tells his friend how he betrayed his trust in him. In another scene, he questions his friend, who is about to get hitched that if he has overcome love failure and depression.
There’s a sense of sadness and also a sharp wit on display here. The narrative meanders at times and there are some glaring plot flaws in the script as a few characters go missing abruptly.
The film’s second hour goes on a predictable fashion, and there are times the story feels too stretched for its own good. The tone shifts between serious and funny moments, but the transition isn’t smooth. Yet, Majili is a movie that benefits from its talented cast whose presence and performance makes it worth watching.
Divyansha Kaushik, who makes her debut with this film, is sincere as spunky Anshu. Naga Chaitanya and Samantha deliver their chops earnestly with their sparkling chemistry and their bonhomie is palpable on screen.
Naga Chaitanya performs gloriously and effortlessly slips into Poorna’s role. You feel sorry for him when is going through the pain. Instead, you patiently wait to see him change as a doting husband and he finally, wins your heart.
Samantha, who is on a roll winning laurels for her scintillating performances in films like U-Turn and Super Deluxe, has charmed the audience yet again with her tough and sensible act as Sravani. She is the soul of this Majili.
Posani Krishna Murali makes an impression as Sravani’s father, who meddles in his daughter’s life as she goes through an emotional turmoil. Rao Ramesh delivers strong performance and he holds your attention in the supporting cast.
Technically, Vishnu Sharma’s cinematography captures the pulse of Visakhapatnam beautifully. The action and melodrama sequences are competently handled. Gopi Sundar’s music is hummable and the background score by SS Thaman too succeeds on many counts.
Overall, Majili, despite some unplanned halts, is worth giving a try this summer as you may fall in love with its lead characters and their straightforward performances.
Cast: Naga Chaitanya Akkineni, Samantha Akkineni, Divyansha Kaushik, Rao Ramesh Direction: Shiva Nirvana |
muralikrishna.db@newindianexpress @onlymurali