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
