Memu Copulam Review: Light, No-Brainer Rural Comedy

BOTTOM LINE
Light, No-Brainer Rural Comedy

PLATFORM
ZEE5

RUNTIME
158 Mins | 6 Episodes

What Is the Show About?

Ravi and Mohan are police officers in a small town, Mahadevapatnam, entrusted with catching a rooster, Salaar Raju, that goes missing one night. Gajapathi Raju, the village head, had pinned high hopes on it to win the cockfights for the coming festive season. In pursuit of the rooster, the cops uncover a drug syndicate that creates chaos within the village.

Performances

Ravi Teja Nannimala and Getup Srinu make for a fun cop duo. Both the actors make its rather eccentric premise within a familiar setup feel believable throughout. A fit-looking Naga Babu is well-suited as the village leader Gajapathi Raju and adds value to the show. Known faces like Kireeti Damaraju and Kamal remain underused. The young crop, including Charan Lakkaraju, Reethu Chowdary and Siri Parvathy, do what’s expected of them.

Analysis

Memu Copulam is a light-hearted, self-aware take on a beaten-to-death premise: two cops pulling out all the stops to end the drug trade within a small hamlet. It is clever enough to keep the stakes low and not take itself too seriously. The show works as a timely respite from films beamed upon us with larger-than-life protagonists who are out to save the world.

The show unfolds within a familiar, relatable backdrop. In Mahadevapatnam, villagers are busy with their internal squabbles. The children of two prominent village men are in love. A youngster forms a group to protect animal rights and has a plan in place to minimise rooster fights. An ambitious anchor hopes to make her local news channel, MDTV, as popular as NDTV.

A newly appointed cop has no respect for his superior. A village head names multiple roosters after the films of Prabhas – Baahubali, Salaar, and Kalki. What starts as a relatively non-serious rural comedy takes an interesting turn when the cops discover the rampant sale of a drug, Silavathi, wrapped in turmeric packets across kirana stores. Will the drug racket be busted? And what’s up with Salaar Raju?

Spread across six episodes spanning 30 minutes each, Memu Copulam finds a good balance between its irreverence and gives purpose to its oddball characters. Between the drug bust and Salaar Raju’s pursuit, you see Mohan finally coming to respect Ravi, a school-going son hailing his father as a hero, a daughter cautioning her father to set his indulgences aside and work for the village’s betterment.

Many such simple, effective ideas are staged minus fuss or preachiness. The series uses a popular, established template, parodies it and doesn’t blow its silliness out of proportion. The deadpan-humour style works just right. Most of the characters merely go about their lives, and they end up being funny. There’s no desperation to manufacture humour, and the writers keep the tone of the show consistent.

An integral factor to make such low-stakes, easy-to-watch stories tick along smoothly is the camaraderie among its cast. None of the actors tries hard to oversell themselves, and they understand and complement each other’s timing and styles neatly. Not every show is meant to be a golden standard in storytelling. When a viewer bumps into Memu Copulam, they merely seek a good distraction, and this delivers.

Provided it gets respectable viewership, there’s good scope for this show to last across multiple seasons. It’s quite possible to replicate this template and flavour with its lead characters, Ravi and Mohan, solving different crimes across multiple seasons.

If you’re in the mood for something silly, light and fun as a weekend distraction, Memu Copulam is an easy, comfy watch.

Music and Other Departments?

The background score by Saketh Komanduri plays it safe. It neither disrupts the show’s pitch nor enhances its appeal. Perhaps the idea was not to experiment much. Kishore Boyidapu’s cinematography is worthy of praise. There’s no deliberate effort to glamourise or de-glamourise the rural backdrop; what you see is what you get, and in that lies its charm. The key to writing such shows is knowing when and where to stop, and the Memu Copulam team realises this need. The show has a compact runtime and ends at the right time, without stretching the joke or going overboard.

Highlights?

Ravi Teja Nannimala and Getup Srinu’s performances

Self-aware humour without going overboard

Ideal for light, easy viewing

Drawbacks?

Not all characters are developed as well

Takes a while to get going

Uses too many familiar, established tropes

Did I Enjoy It?

I expected a silly little show, and it was just that; I didn’t mind it

Will You Recommend It?

In case you’d want a simple, no-brainer rural comedy for the weekend, it may be a decent bet

Memu Copulam Web Series Reviewed by M9 News

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