BOTTOM LINE
Pain-Full Saga
OUR RATING
1.75/5
CENSOR
U/A, 2h 36m
What Is the Film About?
Manu (Shiva Kandukuri) loves Shravya at first sight. He follows her, gets beaten by her brother, but finally convinces and wins her love. However, sometime later, Manu breaks up with Shravya. Later, Manu is seen proposing to another girl.
Why is Manu proposing to multiple girls? Who is his real love? What is his story, and how it involves rowdies and the missing Warangal mayor, is the movie’s overall plot.
Performances
Shiva Kandukuri has two get-ups in the movie. While one is the bearded one, the other is a much cleaner and trimmer appearance. The actor looks better in the latter sequences with light stubble and comes across as passable on screen. The rom-com vibe sans drama and intense emotion is where he comes across comfortable. The rest of the portion appears forced despite the sincere effort.
Megha Akash does another bubbly, girl-next-door kind of role. She looks lovely and has a good presence, but there is no surprise as she is typecast in these parts. We have seen her pull off similar roles in the past, and she does the same here with a little less impact.
Analysis
Bharath Peddagani writes and directs Manu Charitra. It is a love story at its core, with the local politics thrown into the mix, as well. Moreover, there is a heavy hangover of Arjun Reddy, too.
The initial few moments offer some intrigue due to different events happening back to back. There are murders, and a love story follows them. Soon, the tale has a twist, and one is keen to see where things head.
However, as the flashback involving the lead, Manu, unfolds, things become crystal clear. The predictability hits the roof. Sadly, the lead pair cannot carry the routineness and ordinary writing doing anything special.
It makes the narrative seem very long than it actually is. A never-ending feeling sets in as the proceedings go through the predictable chore. When the interval arrives, a sense of an entire movie being watched sets in.
If there were small bits and pieces of Arjun Reddy in the first half, the second half makes one wonder if Manu Charitra is Arjun Reddy’s re-hash. The entire opening stretch in the second half screams the cult movie.
Mind you, Arjun Reddy itself isn’t new. The entire ‘tragic-drunken’ lover going down the hill submerged in alcohol and smoke is a done-to-death trope. The replication with similar aesthetics and styling is the point here. They look like cheap copies and lack the intensity required for such a narrative.
Making the matter worse is a political subplot involving Mayor’s missing. They are also on the expected lines, but more importantly, it makes for a messy and bloated narrative.
Imagine starting a new love story at this point after all that has happened and is happening. We get that during the pre-climax. Combining the various elements leading to the climax makes one restless with sheer predictability, boredom, and contrived emotions. It’s naturally a relief when the movie ends.
Overall, Manu Charitra is positioned as an epic love saga with lots of pain and suffering. Unfortunately, one has only suffering and pain while watching as the love and drama aren’t generated.
Performances by Others Actors
Pragati Shrivastava and Priya Vadlamani are the other female lead parts with some roles to speak off. The former is the second lead. Even though she lacks in the look departments, it is made up with the act. Priya Vadlamani is wasted.
The movie has many known faces like Daali Dhanjaya, Srikanth Iyenger, Suhas, Madhu Nandan etc. But, to an extent, none barring Suhas and Dhananja, have anything worthwhile to do. Suhas is okay as the hero’s friend, whereas Dhananjaya starts promisingly but loses sheen immediately.
Music and Other Departments?
Gopi Sundar provides the music, which is a shock as there is not even a single memorable song. The background score is better than the single. The rugged and naturalness of the terrain is completely missing here. As a result, despite shooting in real locations, the air of authenticity and impact is missing. Prawin Poodi’e editing is alright. The writing is primarily superficial and below par.
Highlights?
BGM
Parts OF Flashback
Drawbacks?
Lengthy Feel
Routineness
Writing
Bloated Narrative
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Manu Charitra Movie Review by M9News
