BOTTOM LINE
Torture With Twists
OUR RATING
1.75/5
CENSOR
U/A, 2h 29m
What Is the Film About?
Parasuram (Sudheer Babu) is an utterly evil guy who has a fan cum aide in Ramadasu (Harshavardhan). When the former tries to kill his father-in-law Bhanu Prasad (Ajay) for money, he gets what he desires in another way.
Parasuram’s obsession with money and property pushes him to order the killing of his step-sister their kids who could potentially inherit the property if they marry his daughter.
What happens when Parasuram knows that his daughter has fallen in love with DJ (Sudheer Babu), his step-sister’s son, is the movie’s basic plot without its convolutions.
Performances
Sudheer Babu appears in a triple role for the first time in his career in Maama Mascheendra. Enough care has been taken to make them as unique as possible. So, we have Sudheer Babu playing an old guy, an obese and six-pack-donning metrosexual guy. Not only that, each has a different dialect as well.
First of all, Sudheer Babu deserves praise for the effort. It is visible in his acts. His dances are a bonus. The makeup could have been done a little better, though. That’s a grouse, but it can be kept aside for ambition. However, the impact is missing and it’s more to do with the content and execution than anything.
Esha Rebba and Mirnalini Ravi play the female leads. They look good on screen and are presented well, but one can’t say the same characterisation-wise. They get irritating pretty soon. Towards the end, Esha Rebba gets a little sober and has a couple of dramatic moments which is alright.
Analysis
Harshavardhan writes and directs Mama Mascheendra. It is an old-school drama with a modern twist ala Ala Vaikuntapurramulo.
The problems, issues, difficulties, and troubles with Mama Mascheendra are apparent within the opening block itself. It is the convoluted narration. Too many twists are packed back-to-back which leads to such a feeling. One gets what’s happening but the over-excitement to give a twist to the expected makes one lose interest even though parts of it still seem fine.
Unfortunately, the opening block is only a start and more follows it in the narrative. The love track between the lead pairs is without any doubt one of the most irritating ones in the recent past. The idea behind it might be right, but the execution makes one squirm in discomfort in the seat.
The interval bang naturally comes as a relief after all that. It frankly gives one time to process all that has happened until then.
The second half resumes things from where it started. More twists are placed, but drama is also blended into the narrative. Sadly, neither works and provides unintentional laughter. The hope for a clean and crisp proceedings is lost by this time and one submits to the needlessly complicated assault.
Things go on in the same vein until the end, to reach the predictable conclusion. Only one would be hard-pressed to sit firmly until that point.
As mentioned at the start, Maama Mascheendra is a simple old-school tale. Harsha Vardhan tries to give a modern spin to it via several twists. A few would definitely have been fine, but the over-enthusiasm to take things in a new direction at every predictable turn makes things come across as a mess even if the director has clarity in his mind, and the scenes individually look like working.
Overall, Maama Mascheendra is an exercise in complication. A simple premise is convoluted beyond repair and hope. As a result, all the efforts go down the drain.
Performances by Others Actors
Harsha Vardhan, besides direction, plays a critical role in the proceedings. He is reliable and adequate as always. Mirchi Kiran is seen briefly in the supporting comic relief part. Rajeev Kanakala is okay. Ajay is wasted whereas the rest have bits and pieces parts that get lost eventually.
Music and Other Departments?
Chaitan Bharadwaj provides the music. They sound good, but don’t go beyond that and remain forgettable. Praveen Lakkaraju does the background score which is okay. PG Vinda’s cinematography is clean and slick. Marthand K Venkatesh’s editing is alright. The writing has moments but as a whole, it fails to pack punch.
Highlights?
Sudheer Babu’s Effort
Some Twists
Parts Of First Half
Drawbacks?
Convoluted Narrative
Too Many Twists
Makeup At Times
Songs
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Maama Mascheendra Movie Review by M9
