'Bhanumati Ramakrishna' is out on AhA, the streaming platform. Coming from the stable of Northstar Entertainments, it has a distinct set-up. Let's analyze what the film offers and where it fails.
Story
Bhanumati (Salony Luthra) struggles to forget Ram (Raja Chembolu) after the latter ditches her. For five years, their long-distance relationship saw deterioration in the quality of their equations. And, finally, when he comes to India, it's to tell Bhanumati that he wants to move on.
Even as the wound is still fresh in her mind, Ramakrishna (Naveen Chandra) enters Bhanumati's life as her subordinate. They bond over office work and shared working space. Ramakrishna's small-town sweetness wins over the mature-minded Bhanumati. While they seem to be poles apart in many respects, can their love have the last laugh?
Performances
Salony Luthra, who has done web films like 'Kajol' (Hindi) in the past, makes her Telugu debut with confidence. She is immensely watchable, especially when seen in conjunction with the dubbing artist's voice. Naveen Chandra, who plays a 33-year-old man pining for 'sanskari' marriage, strikes the right chemistry with her. Raja Chembolu is watchable and Viva Harsha is fairly enjoyable.
Technical aspects
Music director Shravan Bharadwaj knew his brief that he has to give light tunes that play out in the background. He delivers goods. Achu Rajamani's background music is distinct. Sai Prakash U's cinematography is simple and effective.
Plus Points
Characterizations
The voice-over tool is used effectively.
The dialogues are measured, although they are found wanting in the final segment.
Montage, light songs.
Avoiding overdramatization.
Telling things from Bhanumati's perspective without leaving Ramakrishna in the lurch.
Minus Points
The climax is superficial.
The conflict point goes weak in the knees because the director rushes into the ending pretty hurriedly.
Analysis
'Bhanumati Ramakrishna', directed by newcomer Srikanth Nagothi, doesn't make much fuss about its cultural tropes in telling the story of two love birds in their 30s. Salony Luthra's character is aspirational and independent, something that career-oriented and no-nonsense women would fall in love with. Naveen Chandra's character should have been adequately fleshed out.
Where the film is found to be inadequate is in the last leg. There are some cliches that it could have avoided. If you can forgive the flaws in the climax and with respect to the positioning of conflict, this film makes for a decent web-time watch.
