'Manu Charitra' is this film's only notable theatrical release. Its trailer gave away some plot points and made the audience believe that the film will have some intense plot elements. In this review, we are going to analyze the latest box-office release threadbare.
Plot:
Manu falls in love with Jennifer in his college days. Their love story ends in a disaster due to his impulsive, hyper-angry nature. Years later, Manu is wayward and falls in love with one woman after another. Clearly, he is in need of help. Will he overcome his despair? Will he redeem himself? Can he find true love again? Can his new girlfriend, Jaanu, be the answer? What consequences will his tryst with rowdyism do to his life? Answers to these questions are found in the second half.
Performances:
Shiva Kandukuri does look unnecessarily pensive at times. The serious portions where he is seen with a beard and comes across as an inferior version of Arjun Reddy are pretentious. In the flashback portions where he is seen as a fun-loving college-goer, he looks good. Shiva can go a long way if he opts for performance-driven supporting roles.
Megha Akash is the only female actress who registers her presence. Priya Vadlamani and Harshitha Chowdary (as Stella) are talented but they are wasted here. Suhas probably shot for this movie when he didn't know he will become a bigger actor than the film's lead man.
Kannada actor 'Daali' Dhanunjay is routine, while Srikanth Iyyengar's performance doesn't rise the stakes. The whole plot involving rowdies and political intrigue is half-baked, dragging down whatever little impact the love story could have had.
Technical Departments:
Gopi Sunder's songs serve their purpose. They are functional as long as the film doesn't try to become a musical romantic drama. At times, the songs overpower the narrative. The background score, at times, turns bland.
The cinematography by Rahul Shrivatsav is average. Upendar Reddy's art direction doesn't make its presence felt.
Merits:
The music, to an extent.
The Warangal backdrop.
Demerits:
Heavy dialogues that sound artificial. The old-fashioned dialogue writing is jarring.
No emotional weight. There are two serious love stories but neither of them is worthy of being written about.
The characterization of Jennifer and Jaanu. They come across as readily available women who fall in love with Manu just like that.
The track involving the rowdies. The film fails to blend the track with the main story seamlessly. The villains are there so that there is a ready excuse for a couple of more fights.
The itch to portray the story as a moody, epic tragedy.
Amateurish execution.
Vox Verdict:
'Manu Charitra' attempts to be an intense, deep, angsty love story with themes like sacrifice, epic heartbreak, redemption, and self-damnation thrown in for good measure. But the writing is so uninspired and second-hand that the lifeless treatment tests your patience.
Rating: 2 \ 5
