Chennai Love Story, produced by SKN and Sai Rajesh, is currently playing in cinemas. Here is our review of the latest BO release.
Plot:
Nivi (Sri Gouri Priya) is left heartbroken when her fiancé Ajay calls off their wedding at the eleventh hour. Unable to process the shock, she spirals into depression and starts drinking heavily to numb the pain. One day, while she is on a Chennai beach trying to drown her sorrows with friends, she crosses paths with Steven Shankar (Kiran Abbavaram), an aspiring filmmaker. Steven talks his way into staying with Nivi and her friends for a short while, and his easygoing charm and humor gradually seep into her life. Bit by bit, he helps her work through her grief and rediscover joy, and what starts as friendship slowly blossoms into romance. A twist awaits. The rest of the film is about whether the duo reunite.
Performances & Technical Departments:
Kiran is excellent in the role of a pure-natured orphan whose gratitude is boundless. He is genuinely attentive to Nivi's pain. He is cheerful, but not oblivious to her trauma. His fun attitude is entirely character-driven and his emotional history is unveiled in installments. Sri Gouri Priya plays her career's toughest part; she looks legit in almost all scenes, particularly in the climax. The constant low mood doesn't feel gloomy because of her naturalistic act.
Mani Sharma's songs work better in the context of the film than otherwise. Guruthunda is the best; lyricist Anantha Sriram uplifts the melody to a different level. Hoyila Hoyila, Jigithara, and Vadhalane are nice. The cinematography by Viswas Daniel is apt.
Post-Mortem:
"A timeless tale of love, emotions, and destiny unfolds. Witness the beautiful journey of Steven and Nivi as they navigate love, dreams, and the moments that change their lives forever." This was quite a strong pitch by writer Sai Rajesh, the director of Baby fame. The screenplay has been written almost entirely by him, while the story is his. Writer-director Ravi Namburi's job was to make the emotions feel real, and make the surreality look not-too-distant. He lets his lead pair be both dramatic and restrained without making the melodrama overwhelm the viewer.
The characterization of Steven is interesting: he is over-talkative, he daydreams, and is awkwardly overconfident. This aspiring filmmaker struggles to narrate. And when he has to show gratitude, he 'Banisa Bombs' Nivi. As someone who grew up in an orphanage, he made Megastar Chiranjeevi his family. Even when he is talking about his favourite matinee idol, he imbues the monologue with emotion. He sounds legit even when he defames Nivi's first love. While it is the female lead who has to look bubbly, in Chennai Love Story, it is the male lead's job to look bubbly and socially immature too.
Nivi is a contrast. She is easily annoyed but is not entirely numb. She is so important to the story that the male lead's job is to care for her feelings. She takes sympathy to him because he faces mocking and microaggressions. Nivi is a drinker, while Steven is into chasing a chimera. Nivi's phone call to Ajay post their break-up reflects the state of mind of a depressed one.
After may be decades, Telugu cinema comes up with a 'hero' who has starved and slept on the platform of a railway station. Then there is the Prem Nagar-level melodrama in some stretches in the second half. The tonal shifts are daring. A particular backstory involving a fatherless son foreshadows what is going to come in the second hour.
The second half is more of a surreal comedy. This kind of story required stylized treatment to lend it a contemporary quality. The intercuts should have been sharp and unexpected. The scene transitions should have been clinical. The resonances from the first half are exhausting to watch in the second half.
Closing Remarks:
Chennai Love Story delivers an emotionally engaging romantic drama with sincere performances. It has its flaws. Overall, it's a touching love story that works primarily because of its performances and heartfelt emotions.
