Chennai Love Story has taken a surprising turn after its OTT release. The Kiran Abbavaram and Sri Gouri Priya starrer received a decent response in theatres and went on to become another success for Kiran Abbavaram. However, the reaction from OTT viewers has been far more negative.
The film was released in theatres on July 24 and opened to mixed talk with fair opening. Despite the divided response, audiences supported the film decently. It maintained decent momentum in the following days and emerged a success. Chennai Love Story final worldwide collections came close to Rs. 50 crores gross, according to trade experts.
But things have changed after its SonyLIV premiere on August 21. Many OTT viewers are now wondering how the film managed to become such a big theatrical success. The backlash is especially harsh for the second half. While the theatrical response suggested that the first half was breezy and the latter portions were weaker, the OTT audience is being far more brutal. Several viewers are calling the first half just average and describing the second half as terrible.
The portions after the hero’s death, where he returns as a spirit, have received the most trolling. The climax has also failed to impress many viewers. Several people feel that the film moves too slowly and that its core concept does not connect with them. However, Gouri Priya was praised for her emotional performance as Nivi.
One viewer bluntly asked, “How did this film collect 50 crores at the box office?” Another said that almost every scene felt unbearable, adding that the second half was particularly frustrating.
The film’s emotional writing is also being questioned. One reaction compared the approach to Sai Rajesh’s earlier films like Baby and called the dialogues “full cringe.” Another viewer felt the film was artificial from the beginning, saying everything seemed manufactured to make audiences emotional. The viewer added that “empathy doesn’t come manufactured.”
The difference could also be because of the viewing experience. The songs, visuals and overall presentation may have worked better on the big screen. On OTT, those advantages are not as effective. As a result, the slow second half and emotional portions are getting trolled more.
Though this response might look shocking for the unversed, many had already expected the film would become the target of brutal trolling once it comes on OTT.
Written by Sai Rajesh and directed by Ravi Namburi, Chennai Love Story was produced by Sai Rajesh and SKN.
