BOTTOM LINE
Familiar Memories, Decent Watch
PLATFORM
ETV Win
RUNTIME
3 Hours (7 Episodes)
What Is the Show About?
Santhosh, a young man set to marry his long-time girlfriend Vaishali, reunites with his three best friends for a bachelor trip. Their plans go haywire when a freak accident leaves Santhosh with partial memory loss. As the wedding date approaches, his friends go all out to hide his condition while helping him regain his memories and navigate the chaos without getting caught.
Performances
Viraj Ashwin gets one of his better roles after Baby and makes good progress as an actor with his dialogue delivery and emotive abilities. He makes the viewers empathise with Santhosh’s struggles with an honest portrayal. Yashashree Rao proves to be quite a handful in a girl-next-door, relatable role, making her presence felt.
The major chunk of the screen-space is occupied by Santhosh’s friends, played by Pavan Sidhu, Godavari Gopi, and Viva Raghav, whose easy camaraderie works well for the story. Priyadarshini Ram’s firm voice and dominating presence help his performance. Good support comes from experienced hands like Rohini Hattangadi, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Sivannarayana, Goparaju Ramana, and Anish Kuruvilla.
Analysis
Gurtukosthunnayi is a perfect representation of the brand of storytelling that ETV Win has popularised with its web shows in recent months: simple, grounded tales aimed at the 20-30 age group, featuring clean humour, liberal doses of nostalgia, 90s/early 2000s references, and bromance. The catchy premise has enough juice in it to accommodate these indulgences organically.
While the basic idea of the show stems from Vijay Sethupathi’s Tamil film Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom (which was also later remade in Telugu as Pusthakamlo Konni Pagelu Missing), the screenplay is largely different. Gurtukosthunnayi focuses more on the growing years of the protagonist and his friends, raising a toast to simpler, uncomplicated times in a small town.
The formative years become all the more significant to the show because Santhosh is to marry his former school principal’s daughter. The principal, being a witness to the protagonist’s wild antics at school, contributes to the awkwardness between the men. The principal is, obviously, a hardcore disciplinarian who would do anything to protect his daughter and is rather possessive about her.
Given the show revolves around how Santhosh regains his memory gradually across select events and situations, the narrative keeps switching between his past and the present frequently. The flashback episodes, set in a school where the boys are in the mood for mischief and the seeds of teenage love are sown, are painfully sweet and, to an extent, basic.
Yet, the director Winod Gali ensures that the scenes remain crisp and the screenplay, despite its predictability, rolls along smoothly sans many hiccups. The lives of the boys are depicted in all their messiness, stitched together like a highlights package with the boomer-uncle energy of ‘woh bhi kya din the.’ Everything is bound to be sweeter when one looks back, and the show finds solace in the past of the characters.
More than the past, however, what works better is the love-hate relationship among friends as adults. They are more complicated and messier now, which makes their equation more interesting. While they are here to help Santhosh navigate a tricky phase, they are no props and have many moments where they feel they have had enough with their dear friend and his condition.
The proceedings establish Santhosh’s struggles and embarrassments with his partial memory loss in detail, from calling his father ‘uncle’ to having no clue about his future wife and treating his grandma like an outsider. The treatment of the story is relatable and earthy, without any gimmicks. You are not required to think much. Please come to the party, have a good time, and leave.
Though clichéd, the emotional climax with Santhosh’s long monologue about the significance of love and friendship in his life, holding the guilt of a childhood tragedy close to his chest, helps the show end on a high. Sometimes, you just do not want a show to try too hard to impress. Stick to basics, deliver a staple diet, and there will always be an audience ready to lap it up.
Gurtukosthunnayi is familiar comfort food that delivers on its promise. Nothing extravagant, but just a story of a youngster, the little moments with his lady love, family, friends, and a low-stakes conflict. If this seems like your cup of tea, you will not mind the 214-minute long ride much.
Music and Other Departments?
The music by Ajay Arasada is mostly catchy, with a fine mix of energy and melody in the songs and the background score. Rehan Shaik’s cinematography is sharp and neat, effective in driving the story forward without going overboard. The writing particularly stands out when Santhosh is left to deal with many catch-22 situations and he pieces together his best, bit by bit. The childhood episodes feel slightly repetitive, over-emphasising the good old days. Even with the flab, the runtime does not feel like a major roadblock.
Highlights?
Simple, straightforward story
Relatable performances
Good mix of humour, emotions
Drawbacks?
Nostalgia overdose
Easy resolution to Santhosh’s conflict
Remains generally predictable
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, because I went in with minimal expectations
Will You Recommend It?
If you’re in the mood for something familiar, comfortable and sugary on a weekend evening
Gurtukosthunnayi Web Series Reviewed by M9 News
