Movie Review: Cheema, Prema, Madhyalo Bhama!
Going by the title and the cover pic, I went to see the movie with the expectation that the movie has some comedy perspective. The picture started with a beautiful rendition of the “ant-istic” theme with a song by Dr. SPB in an artistic manner. The treatment is that of a pure and pristine storyline unlike that of current genres of action, crime, revenge, family politics and thrillers. The Director has trodden a different path with a poignant love story revolving around a couple (not a triangle) with a handful of supporting characters.
The songs- 5 or 6 of them are meaningful and are picturized nicely. The lead actors look natural and have given life to the characters. The director has brought the best out of their debut screen presence and talent. The first half is peppy, full of josh, enjoyment all around. The intermission brings a melancholic U-Turn keeping the story engrossed till the end. The movie was a breeze and I never felt the movie was taking a good 2 hrs or so.
Contrary to my expectations, there was no much comic relief. Director has shown the vicissitudes of life starting with an ant desirous of highest order/pedigree of ‘janma’ (as in Hindu philosophy) and the lead couple going through the twists and turns as in a hilly terrain. The unpleasant situations/forebodings in the film were given subtle treatment. The dialogues by characters are simple and short which are very much like commonplace conversation that happens in our homes on a day-to-day basis. I never felt that they were filmy dialogues. The locales are good.
The ants rendering, animation, their small but thought-provoking talks are brought out in a dignified manner. The only intriguing question is why the doctor’s name is abridged to Dr. K. Is it due to copyright issue? Overall, from the film critic perspective, the debut directorial venture of Srikanth comes out with flying colors. Alas, the current print media (which I am exposed to) reviews only expensive titles with famous star cast and never bothers about low-budget, meaningful and uncomplicated plots. In the ultimate analysis, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie.
I rate the movie to be at 4.5 out of 5
Review by Raghu Sanjeevappa, Film Critic
