All’s well that ends well. And you know that it’s going to end well, because that’s how Vikram K Kumar’s films roll. No villains, no hatred; just a bunch of happy people seeking more happiness — that sums up Hello. Akhil Akkineni seems to have found his footing with his second film in the form of this breezy love story.
Story goes thus: Seenu (Akhil), the street child playing music for money, is found by Sarojini (Ramya Krishna) and Prakash (Jagapathi Babu), a childless couple, when Sarojini accidentally runs over Seenu. He then is raised as their child as Avinash. Avinash even after growing up into a fine young man is unable to forget Junnu (Kalyani), his childhood sweetheart. He loses the phone number she writes for him on a `100 note before leaving town when he was a street monger. The one thing that connects them is the tune he made for her. He spends all his days waiting for her at the place they used to meet and searching for the phone number he lost. How Seenu, who grows up as Avinash finally meets Junnu whose real name is Priya over a series of unlikely coincidences forms the movie. Tethered together by what Nagarjuna’s voice over defines as destiny, the story is a long chain of lucky encounters among the main characters.
The coincidences get tedious after a point and to the realists the squeamishly sweet characters might be hard to digest. However, the visuals, the emotion and the screenplay keep you engaged. PS Vinod’s camerawork is a blessing to the film and a treat to the audience. Anup Rubens music was predictable and somehow reminds you of Manam all over again. But if that was the effect he was going for then it worked.
Akhil Akkineni suited the role of a young lover boy as he does but the special mention must go to the action sequences which he pulled off with ease. Sure he has a long way to go as an actor, that too being cast with stalwarts like Jagapathi Babu and Ramya Krishna, but this was a great start.
Ramya Krishna and Jagapathi Babu steal the show as adoptive parents. Kalyani is a breath of fresh air with her subtle expressions and cute demeanor. She stays true to her character and pulls it off. The child actors who play Seenu and Junnu are as cute as they can get and the audience are left wanting more.
Hello’s narration and the action sequences (which seemed to have been choreographed just to show off Akhil’s skills) were a bit of a drag. But all said and done, this one does make you leave the theatre with a lighter heart. Hello makes you want to believe in fairy tales and happy endings.