Thippara Meesam charts the story of Mani Shankar (Sree Vishnu), who works as a DJ at a night club. He gets addicted to drugs from a very young age and indulges in cricket betting and other illegal games to clear off his debts. He detests his mother Lalitha (Rohini) and often lands in precarious situations.
On paper, the film has a promising premise which has the potential to keep the viewers hooked on to its tale. However, it gets repetitive, predictable and gets lost somewhere along the way.
The story that progresses in a dramatic and convoluted manner, is strewn with blatant plot-holes that make the film far-fetched and unbelievable. Director Krishna Vijay spends the entire first hour to set up its plot and wastes too much time establishing Mani Shankar’s character, thereby never letting you invested in the narrative. This particular hour offers a handful of lump-in-your-throat sequences that are never depicted convincingly to evoke sympathy. The pace at which the story unfolds is askew and the narrative meanders before the inciting moment just before the interval. Except for its emotional climax, the latter half is dull and boring.
The thing about Thippara Meesam is that it is an ordinary story showcasing the turbulent mother-son relationship and is replete with a formula our directors have explored countless times. The director could have at least depicted the agony of a mother right, especially after her life has become miserable due to the humiliation of her son. But he has messed up the emotion with excessive melodrama as she endlessly reiterates the same words she has been telling her son from his childhood days.
Sree Vishnu’s surface-level performance doesn’t help to convey the desperation his character’s supposedly feeling. His character deals with anger-management issues and has an explosive nature like Arjun Reddy, but it’s not as convincing as the latter, owing to his vices. Sample this: the hero’s drug addiction is celebrated with a song composed of a collection of some of the popular dialogues of Telugu cinema. This looks a bit weird due to the director’s penchant to tell this story in a dark tone.
Nikki Tamboli was given limited scope to perform and she would have been a value addition had she got a meatier role. Rohini lived in her role and you empathise and feel sorry for her when she resorts to save her son selflessly on many occasions. As always, she is in control and delivers exceptional performance.
Visually, the film is a delight with commendable camerawork by Sid. His choice of colours and themes oscillating between black and white frames is praiseworthy. Suresh Bobbili’s music and background score contribute well to the narrative. Overall, Thippara Meesam is far from a perfect film and is boring.
