BOTTOM LINE
Simple and Silly
PLATFORM
AHA Video
RUNTIME
270 Minutes (8 Episodes)
What Is the Film About?
Anand, a good-for-nothing guy who’s barely passed his engineering exams and an ambitious Lahari, under pressure from her parents, reluctantly get married amidst many attempts to call off the alliance. They shift to Hyderabad post marriage. While Lahari, after many rejections, gathers the courage to up her game and finds a job, Anand continues to lead a life sans much responsibility.
Performances
The lead pair, Abhishek Boddepalli and Bhramaramba Tutika, share good on-screen camaraderie and portray the awkwardness between a newlywed couple who reluctantly come together. Both have an ease with dialogue delivery, can hold a scene well and possess a knack for humour. The supporting cast, comprising Revathi Nadha Pulipati, Krishna Yerubbadi, Amar, Amrutha and others, holds their own within the limited screen time they get.
Analysis
We live in times where there’s no shortage of avenues to carve your niche in the entertainment industry. The resources are more accessible, affordable than ever before; there’s a steady stream of talent waiting to have a crack at the next big opportunity. Moreover, mainstream content, in its attempt to recover budgets and cater to a wide audience, doesn’t have the space to capture hyperlocal realities.
Anandalahari hits the sweet spot at many levels. Backed by Suresh Productions, it taps into the demand for rooted storytelling on OTT minus hype or hoopla, which big players have conveniently ignored, in the quest for numbers. Directed by Sai Vanapalli, the show unites a mix of young and experienced hands, YouTubers, actors and non-actors to tell a relatable, slice-of-life story minus any complexity.
Anand and Lahari, the lead characters, after whom the show is named, are as flawed as one could be. Parents complain about a son who struggles to clear his engineering exams, while another set is eager to get their daughter married. The teenagers booze around, flirt with their love interests. The boys aimlessly go about their lives, and the girls try to strike a balance among career, love and family.
Anand, who hatches a plan with a friend to call off the alliance, develops a liking for Lahari in their first meeting. Similarly, Lahari and her sister unsuccessfully try to create chaos in the wedding venue. They move to Hyderabad soon after their marriage. While Lahari tries to attend spoken English classes to build a corporate career, Anand is yet to come of age.
The newlywed couple behave like disinterested roommates, adapting to the ways of the city. Gradually, moving past their initial friction, they find comfort in each other’s company. If the job keeps Lahari occupied through the day, Anand kills time with a mother-like figure, a neighbour belonging to his native region. There are highs, lows and obvious turbulences in the marriage.
As one may have realised by now, Anandalahari doesn’t boast any story, relies on simple, lifelike moments, and smaller pleasures in the lives of two mismatched, confused souls. The show keeps shifting between the village and the city, and ultimately ends at a point when the couple gains some clarity about what they want from their marriage and careers. All’s well that ends well.
Anandalahari is quite efficient in understanding the mundane details of daily life in East/West Godavari regions, their rivalries, eccentricities, and their love for flexis – something only an insider could bring alive on the screen. At times, the lingo may feel crass/brash, but that’s largely a reflection of the way the characters go about their lives and not like a cheap attempt to grab eyeballs.
Brimming with young energy and freshness, Anandalahari isn’t perfect, but it grows on you with time, by keeping things simple, relatable and unabashedly silly.
Music and Other Departments?
The music, by Joy Solomon, isn’t one of the show’s strengths, acting like a mandatory filler in the gaps between dialogues and not really contributing much to the overall impact. Ashoka Dabbeeru’s cinematography is precise and neat, altering its tone as per the rural and the city backdrops. The dialogues by the director Sai Vanapalli himself are the major highlight. Despite the lengthy runtime, the show makes for easy viewing due to its lighthearted storytelling.
Highlights?
Local humour, rooted storytelling
Lively performances
Light and makes for easy viewing
Drawbacks?
Has a chaotic start (before it settles down)
Predictable narrative style
Did I Enjoy It?
Enjoyed it generally, takes time to grow on you, but watch it with low expectations
Will You Recommend It?
If rural humour, light-hearted tales appeal to you, go ahead
Anandalahari Web Series Review by M9
