Pelli Choopulu

I watched Pellichoopulu without much hope of being impressed or even of being entertained. Recent Telugu movies have been passable, but nothing that really got my attention. Pellichoopulu totally blew these thoughts out of my head!

The first half of PC was riotously funny, as the gang led by Prashant (Vijay Devarakonda) are goons who engage in the same dumb things college guys do around the world. Koushik (Priyadarshi) was unbelievably funny--the last time I remember laughing that much at a comedian's antics was maybe the Sunil of old (movies like Dhee, Ready, etc.). Ritu Verma as Chitra was awesome--I distinctly remember being amazed that there was finally a true-to-life strong female character in a Telugu movie. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the first half was that it was so current and relevant. Every teenager sees aspects of their group of friends in Prashant's gang, and the insertion of jokes about social media was timely and hilarious. Chitra's determination and modern character makeup was far more reminiscent of today's Indian women than the made-up doll roles that Tammannah, Samantha, and even Kajal frequently find themselves in.

The second half slowed down considerably, as the focus shifted to the emerging love story between Prashant and Chitra. I was a little less enthused about this half, but I believe it to have been very well done in its own way. The tension between the two kept me engaged, and the non-obvious way in which it resolved itself left me more satisfied than the usual fight scenes that Telugu movies use as a way of having a hero save the heroine.

Overall, Pelli Choopulu is a must-watch with great writing, direction, and action. I know I will be watching it again for many years.

Chitra has just completed MBA and aspires to pursue further studies in Australia and become an entrepreneur. Prashanth is forced to pursue Engineering course by his father though he aspires to be a chef. He is also too lazy to chase his dream and seeks shortcuts to settle down in life. The movie takes off when the two protagonists meet accidentally during a pellichoopulu (a common Indian ritual where potential groom and bride meet along with their families). What follows is a narrative that presents a predictable story in an engaging manner with oodles of humor and very relatable situations.

Vijay Deverakonda is authentic in his portrayal of Prashanth who is used to the daily taunts from his father and would prefer to laze around seeking simplistic solutions without a care. Ritu Varma, with her sparkling presence lights up every frame and is pitch perfect as the ambitious Chitra who is at ease in conveying a wide range of emotions. They share an easy chemistry and are ideal foil for each other which make them instantly likeable and keeps the viewers invested in how they fare. Besides the leads, the movie benefits from a competent set of supporting cast who register their presence even in the smallest of roles and adding to the funny situations. Composer Vivek Sagar has provided some good songs and adds value with his background score.

Debutante director Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam has made a breezy romcom which checks almost all the right boxes a genre which is mostly messed up in narratives that are mired in melodrama or mindless action or other "masala" elements. His competence as an engaging storyteller is evident in the way that he strikes a fine balance in presenting the multiple threads of understated romance, aspirations of girls which are often ignored or even trampled upon as well as the casual attitudes of a section of youth Wei fail to follow one's dreams due to their lethargy and seeking easy solutions, family bonds without getting preachy or melodramatic and constant flow of jokes which do not feel forced.

With an entertaining first feature, Tharun has announced his arrival as a film maker to look forward to.

Pelli Choopulu (2016): Its been such a long time since I watched such a refreshing movie like Pell Choopulu.In recent times,most of the movies are turning out to be a disappointing ventures.This week out of Jakkanna and Pelli Choopulu,I opted for Pelli Choopulu because I wanted to avoid Jakkanna.I had good vibes on this movie after watching the trailer but didn't expect much out of it.But to my surprise this is movie is awesome.

Plot: Prashanth (Vijay) is aimless in life. His father arranges a pelli choopulu for him and he agrees to meet Chitra (Ritu). On the day of the pelli choopulu, Prashanth, Chitra and a small boy are stranded in a room where they were asked to talk to each other. Thanks to the door that gets jammed, Prashanth and Chitra talk about each other. Chitra tells Prashanth that she is not ready for marriage and due to her dad's pressure she agreed to this.As the conversation progresses the duo realize that their thoughts have a lot in common. But a small twist arise which makes their ways apart but they again meet because of some circumstances.What happened to their lives and did they achieve their goals forms rest of the story.

Plus Points: 1)Screenplay and Direction: Pelli Choopulu has one of the most refreshing entertaining screenplay in recent times.It is so natural that we can easily relate to the scenes and dialogues in this movie.We never get bored at any point of the movie.A smile always lies on our face until this movie ends,even after that too......Director Tarun Bhasker really impressed us a lot.His work is commendable and we can truly await for his next projects.He is a real classy gen for Tollywood.

2)Performances: This movie has most natural performances of this year.Every actor gave their 100% percent output which really helped a lot.Out of them Ritu Varma is such a beauty of expressions and she is the major highlight of the movie.Vijay Sai perfectly apted for that role and his buddies,especially Priyadarshi is hilarious with his one liners in Telangana slang.He did the most refreshing comedy in recent times.

3)Music: Music helped a lot to elevate the scenes.Its so pleasant and songs are very good.Aanandamayenu is the best of the album.

4)Cinematography. This movie has the camera work similar to short films but really a appreciable job.It helped to give movie a natural look

Minus Points: 1)Ordinary story line: Movie's story is just like regular romantic comedy but its nothing to worry about as it has wonderful screenplay.

SO Pelli Choopulu is one of the most refreshing n naturally crafted romantic comedy with best performances,music and direction.A Must Watch one...

After the very well deserved failures of Brahmotsavam, Sardar Gabbar Singh and Aagdu, the Telugu audience had shown maturity in rejecting formulaic horrible movies with larger than life hero worship. Pellichupulu, the little movie, comes as a breath of fresh air. The USP of the movie is a simple story that connects. For a change, no one in the movie is running around screaming as if their life is at stake. I do not want to write about the various aspects of the movie as the other reviewers have already said it better. The movie is based on real life incidents which are extremely believable. The lead pair has a fabulous chemistry and the comic situations are extremely funny. The future of Telugu film industry is glorious if such movies keep getting attention and success. Go watch it, this one is a gem.

"One of the best Telugu movie of 2016. Its a gem to the industry and its a movie not to be missed" My rating- 4.5/5 (Movie with every ingredients mixed)

Positives- 1.) Direction,script and story- Direction was amazing and cant believe that Telugu industry has creative directors. Each and every scene was fabulous and entertaining. Script was masterpiece and it made a simple story excellent with powerful script.

2.)All actors- Everyone did their parts well. All were realistic and special mention to Vijay and ritu who acted out their parts very well and those two friends of vijay were hilarious specially priyadarshi whose humors went with the flow.

3.)Comedy- All the comedy were realistic and its something which we also see in day to day life and its presented out well on screen by actors. Director needs to be appreciated for portraying youth's stupidity with realism and i am sure all youth's could relate to it.

4.)Emotions and message mixed very well in the story and audience could get the feel.

5.) songs and bg score Negatives- (Nothing) Is it a must watch? Yes, and its a movie not to be missed. I hope this movie gets remaked so that non-Telugu audience can also see it.

Overall- Its very rare to see this type of movie and its one of the all time best Telugu movie and also it comes under my top 20 favorite movie list.

My rating- 4.5/5 (Movie with every ingredients mixed)

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