2 Countries movie review highlights: The first half fails to live up to the expectations

The remake of the Malayalam film '2 Countries' starring Sunil and debutant Manisha Raj in lead roles, hit the screens today. The film charts the journey of a good-for-nothing Ullas (Sunil) who likes to cheat people and is greedy for money. He lives in Venkatapuram and likes to create ruckus where ever he goes. His best friend, Bose (

Srinivas Reddy

) plays along with his shenanigans. Ullas first decides to marry Patel bhai's (

Shivaji Shinde

) disabled sister because he owes Patel money and wants to distract him. But when a comedy of errors brings his childhood friend Laya (Manisha Raj), who earns well in the US, into his life, he decides to ditch Patel's sister and get married to the NRI Laya.

The first half features scenes that are random and lead up to revealing that Laya is an alcoholic. Before Laya's entry, the first half consists of a few gags and establishes Ullas as a greedy person with no conscience. There's only one scene where Sunil imitates Pawan Kalyan's political speeches that stands out. After Laya's entry, the film picks up pace. Ullas is an extremely hard character to like; the way he behaves and treats Laya, putting her to place by calling her immoral just because she drinks. The way he treats her father in a scene is contentious too. So far, the film is plain okay. It remains to be seen how the second half with fare.