Manmadhudu 2 - Movie Review

In an interview recently, Nagarjuna admitted that director Rahul Ravindran has a distinctive style of filmmaking, which does not necessarily communicate with the masses. It is something labelled as offbeat cinema. Nagarjuna’s Manmadhudu 2, written and directed by Rahul Ravindran, is his push into the bigger and massy film genre. On a day when he won the National Award for Best Screenplay for ‘Chi La Sow’, his big-ticket, Manmadhudu 2, hit the big screens. Retaining only the title and male lead from ‘Manmadhudu’ (2002), Manmadhudu 2 is a modern day take on the life of a Casanova pestered into getting married. But its convoluted story-telling leaves you disappointed.

Set in Portugal, the story is centred around a middle-aged singleton, Sam (Nagarjuna) who is a third-generation Indian in Portugal. A brief history of the family reveals how Cassandra in Portugal was inhabited over the years by people of Telugu origin – a clever alibi explaining the large number of people speaking Telugu in Cass’Andhra’. A perfumer by profession, Sam has a sharp taste in exotic fragrances and pretty women – explained adequately through the song, ‘Menina’ (girl in Portuguese). Unaware of his philandering, flamboyant lifestyle, his family – Matriarch mother (Lakshmi), sisters (Jhansi, Devadarshini and Nishanthi) plead, prod and force him to get married because “neeku evaru vandi pedtaru, evaru battalu utukutaru, evaru illu chuskuntaru?”. Yes, a Portugal-bred family has such regressive and irrational reasons. Well, in their defence, “Panivaalu Portugal lo dorkaru”! With a lame premise as this, the movie becomes a ride into turning the womanizer into a householder. Enter Avantika (Rakul Preet) a young waitress who is chosen to be married to Sam. And the rest is just a convolution of elements of mass appeal and a Rahul Ravindran style of slow and simmering filmmaking.

Rahul Ravindran has been a part of mostly indie and offbeat films, both as an actor and director. His sensibilities are different from the tropes needed in a commercial Telugu film. With Manmadhudu 2, he tries to retain his traits of simple story, subtle humour and conversational story-telling. But this does not come out effectively, mainly because of the poorly written dialogues. The premise is that Telugus in Cass’Andhra’ speak chaste language – something which could have been used effectively for comic relief. But lines like ‘Madhuramaina vyaktivi’, ‘antaraayam kalingchaku’ and ‘Vaidyulu em anaru’ seem farcical. As Sam’s PA, Kishore (Vennela Kishore) says, it is Doordarshan Telugu which is hard to decipher. Barring a few places where it is used comically, it acts as a hindrance to connect to the characters. Also, the uneven pace does not help either – some situations are elaborate while others move swiftly. The biggest inconsistency is the way the lead character has been written. There is not enough explanation for Sam’s aversion to marriage (except his already vibrant life). The love-hate relationship he has with his doting family, which almost makes him look like a Man-child, is not explained well. His quirks like a sensitive nose and OCD for cleanliness do not add anything to the story. The entire blame falls on the writing – the idea was novel but failed in writing or execution.

Coming to the supporting cast, only Rao Ramesh and Lakshmi play on the strengths of their acting prowess and stand out. Vennela Kishore gets major screen-time as the side-kick, but the dialogues or situations do not give him enough material to play with. Even his comic timing does not deliver enough laughs. Nagarjuna looks dapper and is a treat to the eyes, until he takes his sunglasses off, revealing his paunchy-eyes that give away his age. As admitted by himself, he is not a great actor but a great star- not disappointing his fans on the star quotient. But, he is uneasy and listless in most of the scenes that require emotion. Even the short flashback which is meant to explain his current state has him overact and create a caricature out of himself. It was refreshing to see Rakul Preet hold her ground by delivering a strong performance. She flaunts her curves as much as she displays her emotions. But, her efforts go in vain as it does not hold the movie together.

Cleverly naming the movie as Manmadhudu 2 ensured a certain section of the audience to return to the theatres, expecting the fun and frolic ride of ‘Manmadhudu’. But, if you expect Trivikram’s stellar dialogue writing, impeccable comic timing of all the actors and a coherent story, you will be disappointed.

My Rating – 2/5