Andamaina Manasulo Movie Review

Cast: Rajeev, Archana Gupta, Ramya, Sunil, Gollapudi Maruthi Rao, Lakshmipathy and Others
Director:R.P.Patnaik
Producer:S.V.Babu
Music:R.P.Patnaik
Art: A.Ramanjaneyulu
Cinematography: Santosh Rai Pataji
Dialogues and Lyrics: Kulasekhar
Editing:K.V.Krishna Reddy
Banner: S.V.Productions
Story: R.P.Patnaik
Screenplay: R.P.Patnaik
Release Date: 14th February, 2008


‘Andamaina Manasulo’, composer Patnaik's directorial debut, is a simple love story about a young girl's infatuation turning into love for an older man. There is some humor infused into it with Sunil and the late Laxmipathy's amusing track, the lead actor Rajiv makes a good debut and there are two hummable numbers. The movie drags after a point in the second half towards the climax and the theme might not be to everyone's liking.

Plot:
Tushar and Sandhya are college sweethearts, but Sandhya marries someone else for her parents' sake and never returns. Tushar is heart-broken, but immerses himself in his studies and eventually into getting a doctorate. He has no family, but is close to school kid Bindu whose father works in the campus and they live nearby. Bindu's friendship grows into infatuation and then love, and she grows up to find herself in love with Tushar, who is now older and wiser-and dreads marriage. Bindu tries to tell her love for him, while Tushar still treats her like a child. Sandhya returns, but Bindu's dilemma is only Tushar's rejection.

Story, Screenplay and Direction:
As a story, it is slightly different from the regular stuff. As a theme, the age-gap conflict has been analyzed and written about time and again, with diverse results. Here the conflict is not merely a 8 year gap, but Tushar being a college going guy while Bindu is still a kid, and having known her since then, he cannot seem to think of her differently even after she grows up. That could have been a messy affair, but Patnaik handles that deftly. Some of the supporting cast has done a good job and that holds the movie together despite the weak narrative.

His directorial skills still need to be honed, but he goes by a formula to a certain extent-ample doses of comedy, getting into the dynamics of the very volatile relationship Tushar and Bindu share, a gimmick here and there (like Patnaik's wasteful cameo, a song with some composers at the playback); and a good finish even though after Sandhya re-enters their lives, the movie loses its grip. Patnaik has good sensibilities in terms of creating and understanding some characters, both flat and round, but with the conception of scenes and the pace in the screenplay, he will need time to blossom.

Lip sync is a major issue, as some of the dialogues seem to have been revised while dubbing a lot. Some illogical parts make you squirm in your seat, including Sandhya's re-entry without any hullabaloo and a component of the climax (that would be a spoiler). Some of the scenes between Tushar and Sandhya are not executed that well, but those with Tushar and Bindu as a kid are filled with good repartee and chemistry without making it ugly.

Performances:
Rajiv makes a good debut even in a tricky role that requires him to age a few years but not more than that. He changes his body language along with just hair-makeup and that's definitely a promising start. Sunil (who plays Tushar's dance teacher friend Emmanuel) and the late Laxmipathy (as Emmanuel's assistant) share excellent on-screen chemistry; Laxmipathy was a good but underrated artiste and seems to have gotten his due in this last movie of his. Archana and Ramya as the female leads are inconsistent. The child artiste who played Bindu is good. Maruti Rao's cameo after a long time is used well, Patnaik's was unnecessary.

Song and Dance:
Ammayi Navvindi (with some composers at the playback), Andala Chandamama and Ready Ready are hummable.

Last Word:
Different casting choices, better music and a crisper second half's second half would have made it a good movie. In its present state, it is a heart-felt attempt to create something different, but an average movie.