Over the years, we have seen a lot of love triangles where two best friends fall for the same girl. From Saagar to Saajan in Hindi to the likes of Hanuman Junction in Telugu. While most of these movies revolved around the tried and tested formula of sacrificing ones love for their best friend, Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi (VOZ) tried to break this convention. Does it succeed? Not really!
The movie is essentially the story of a bunch of chaddi-buddies, of which Abhi (played subtly by Ram Pothineni) and Vasu (played by Sree Vishnu) are as close as joined at their hips! To show tremors in their otherwise thick friendship, enter Maha (played beautifully by Anupama Parmeshwaran) and Meghana AKA Maggi (played by Lavanya Tripathi). The movie begins on a no non-sense note, where the two friends confess to each other about loving the same girl and leave it to the girl to decide who she finally wants. This seems a lot believable, considering the fact that they are two people who know each other in and out. The story is convincing enough till here. But then, the writers and directors are suddenly reminded that its a Telugu movie - and they add doses of stupid twists and unrequited sacrifices.
As expected, the two part ways, only to be united four years later at a common friends wedding. To add a few laughs, we have Priyadarshi (Pelli Choopulu was his best and nothing seems to match up to it!) and a few other laugh worthy sequences. Maggi, as the wedding planner, is more involved in the feud between these friends than in arranging the wedding. And honestly, by then you are not even bothered about her as you want the friends to make up somehow and end the 2 hour 30 minutes long tirade!
I would blame the screenplay writers the most for this bumpy ride! The movie has a good plot, with a great scope to be simple and yet, shine. Probably we need more Juhi Trivedis, Ayan Mukherjees or even Sekhar Kammulas to deliver a simple concept beautifully. And also, filmmakers need to get over their urge to add elements of mass appeal and stick to simple story-telling. The huge success of movies like Fidaa and Arjun Reddy should finally make filmmakers concentrate on the content and the narrative.
As for the performances, Ram and Anupama Parmeshwaran steal the show. Special mention to the delicate and nuanced performance by Anupama. She has stunning eyes which convey much more than her dialogues. Lavanya Tripathi had an inconsequential, half-baked character, with nothing worth mentioning. Sree Vishnu had the next best character as Vasu, Abhi's best friend. But he does not match up to Ram or Anupama. Wish they had cast someone better for this role.
A good cinema for me is one which keeps me hooked to the screen and one where I seldom check my phone. Here, I was on my phone for quite a considerable amount of time. I guess, that explains.
My Rating: 2/5
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