Malli Malli Chusa

Story: Gautham (Anurag Konidena) is an orphan raised by an Army major in Vizag. Swapna (Swetha Avasthi) is a college student from Hyderabad who loses the diary that Gautham finds. How he manages to impress her forms the rest of the tale.

Review: While Tollywood has had its share of debutant filmmakers delivering fresh content, once in a while there comes along a director like Hemanth Karthik who makes terrible choices. With an outdated story that is reminiscent of numerous love stories that Tollywood churns out on a weekly basis, Malli Malli Chusa’s storyline and dialogues test the audience’s patience.

Debutant actor Anurag gets a mass introduction with a watchable action scene but what follows after he finds the diary is so illogical, there’s nothing to write home about. The tragic end that comes right before interval seems less tragic and sillier. The sequences of the protagonist trying hard to impress his lady love by joining her college are cringe worthy. The cherry on top is the predictable climax with weak emotions and comedy that is flat and irritating. And while TFI has turned a blind eye many a time to homophobic and misogynistic plots, one expects better from a debutant.

In midst of all the mess, what is clear is that the filmmakers work hard to build a mass image for the debutant actor. While he looks decent on-screen, there’s a huge room for improvement when it comes to his acting skills. Swetha Avasthi too fails to emote, choosing instead to unnecessarily flaunt glamour. Senior actors like Annapurna and Ajay are totally misused and the film is backed by weak music. Malli Malli Chusa is a completely avoidable fare.

-Pathi.Thadhagath@timesgroup.com