Love Story hinges on the premise of caste discrimination and complex issues faced by women. The story is centered on the romance between good neighbours – Revanth (Naga Chaitanya) and Mounika (Sai Pallavi), who move to the city from Armoor to realise their dreams. While Revanth belongs to an underprivileged community and always believes in living with dignity, Mounika hails from a rich family, who doesn’t understand her passion. Revanth runs a Zumba centre to make ends meet and Mouni wants to pursue a career in the IT industry. Both agree to take Zumba classes together until they find what they are looking for.
The film effectively takes on the dynamics of the caste disparities and some significant issues encountered by women. We are living in a world where the lower caste has to go through humiliation and discrimination and also the exploitation of women, whatever caste they may belong to, has become a common sight. It seems director Sekhar Kammula has changed his style of filmmaking and has done a commendable job with the narration, and his portrayal of the disparities in the society in a realistic way than anything else one might have seen so far. He has taken stark attention to everything from the rural setting to its characters’ accents and the way they carry themselves. The storytelling is enhanced with an intriguing background score and terrific cinematography.
Despite starting out in a promising way, the film loses steam early on because of the uninspired writing. Fundamentally, the premise of Love Story is as old as Telugu cinema itself! It’s not about a poor boy loving a rich girl and the protagonist’s frustration and his partner’s distress. At each point, the story takes a different turn and more often than not, lacking interest, thus squandering its potential.
The narrative moves at a sluggish pace resulting in diluting the impact of some highly dramatic scenes. There are moments when you feel like you can predict what happens next from a mile away. The screenplay fails to pack in that conflict that is required for a romantic drama of this nature. Even as the lead pair must confront their fears, reconcile with their haunting past, and at times question their own love for each other, Sekhar Kammula never raises the stakes in a way that makes you feel any empathy for them. The poor placement of the much-talked Saranga Dariya fails to redeem the audience, who are waiting for the big reveal to unfold in the climax.
The ending, however, is bold. It’s unlikely you’ll come out unmoved by the big reveal at the end of Love Story, whose deeply disturbing climax delivers a hard punch to the gut. Sai Pallavi has a live wire presence, literally lighting up the screen when she’s in the frame. She is a delight to watch, especially when she pulls off something genuinely heartfelt. But it’s Naga Chaitanya who has the edge here and he plays the part elegantly. He conveys Revanth’s arc from naive, emphatic, and anger with such nuance that it’s difficult for us to not root for him. This is easily Chay’s most mature and subtle performance and among the best by any actor in recent times.
The supporting cast too comprises a team of terrific actors. Rajeev Kanakala as Mounika’s babai is in great form, as is Devayani and Easwari Rao, who played Mouni and Revanth’s mothers respectively Uttej has a memorable role as a cop. While it’s difficult to predict the film’s commercial success, we can give it a try for its fine performances and inherent honesty!
Love Story
Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Sai Pallavi, Rajeev Kanakala, Easwari Rao
Director: Sekhar Kammula