Hello!

This is a very joyful movie. It made me laugh and cry, which I can ask no more from. It's well-made and well-acted. The story sometimes falters, but things get interesting whenever Srinu keeps searching for Junnu, and that's about the best part. This is a feel-good film where you'll walk out happy, with tears in your eyes.

Hello is about Two childhood friends who accidentally get separated. The rest of the film follows how destiny played a key role in their lives. Except for a few loose ends, it's a masterpiece.

The production values are top-notch. The cinematography and music breathe life into it. The editing, stunts, choreography etc are decent. The performances are good. The acting of kids deserve a special mention. The story is very simple and has an inherent subtlety that connects to the audience.

The screenplay at times is flawed and illogical. And to maintain the fast pace, it was made racy that there is a little time for character development. The lead characters get more screen time compared to all other characters. What bothers most audience is the key events of the story are based on rather silly incidents. These could have been easily improved.

Overall, it's a feel good love story penned over silly logic.

Story: Destiny somehow brings Seenu (Akhil) and Junnu (Priya) closer in their childhood who grow a lot closer in a very short time. After 14 years, Seenu gets an opportunity which could potentially take him to his soulmate. So, did he utilise that bink and a miss opportunity? How do they finally meet is what Vikram crafts for us on the screen.

Screenplay: I always credit him for being the most creative storyteller and even this time, he mesmerises with his writing, but he ain't so flawless either. There is one big plot hole or a blunder, I'd say, which can potentially take away most of the action from the film and cut short the story to around 1 and half hour run time, but that plot hole can't be disclosed without going into the spoiler arena, so I'll refrain from doing that. Another issue I had with the writing was the lack of depth in character. I know that it is difficult to establish character depth with children, but it's not impossible too because it was done many time previously in TFI, be it 'Little Soldiers' or 'Anjali' or many many more. This flaw with 'Hello!' is a major setback because finally when they both meet at the end, obviously, you don't feel for them. You don't feel the gravity of their agonising 14 years of separation.

Direction: In this film, Vikram tries to convey the story in a single day of the film reality. A really good attempt I must say. Despite the flaws, the direction was really good and nothing felt like it was dragged. At times, the way few things go remind you of 'Manam' and that is something not expected of Vikram. He should've either avoided them or could've come up with better ideas to convey them.

Cinematography: Excellent visuals from Vinod. There's always this kind of freshness in his takes. Always great to see. Action sequences were shot really well, though they could've been made better, as per TFI standards, this was way better anyway. One or two long shots and POV shots were the best of them. The lighting in 'Merise Merise' was very much inspired from the way 'Deewani Mastani' was set up in 'Bajirao Mastani', a very good attempt actually. Few shots looked even more beautiful because of good editing from Prawin Pudi.

Music: Probably after 'Manam', this is the best Anup has ever been. A really great background score, an engaging one and that violin theme tho!

Performances: Akhil has done a really good job here. An impressive one, especially after a horrendous debut. The stunts he performed were excellent to watch. Great stunt choreography by Bob Brown was seamless. Kalyani also performed equally well. Her expressions in few scenes were simply spot on. Impressive debut. The girl who played childhood Junnu was fabulous with her expressions. Ramya Krishnan and Jagapati did their part well.

Production Values: Top notch. No issues at all. The sets, locations, props, everything was top class.

Mass Appeal: This is not that kind of a massy film where the hero slaps his thigh and few cars blow up in the background. Vikram tries to keep his films classy and stylish. I don't think the mass audience would appreciate such a love story. But the action sequences could possible please them though.

Class Appeal: Pure class. The taking. The feel. Everything is class and stylish. I found no flaws here. Only that the childhood portion might look a bit over the top for the audiences.

Action is amazing, Akhil did pretty well. Songs were nice. The backlog was a bit laggy and boring for me, but it doesn't take too much time. Emotion is pretty decent. Overall It's a nice movie. It should've been a hit, i don't know why it wasn't. Especially for the action scenes and running/parkour, you can watch this movie. They showed some of this in the trailer but it's even more good in the movie. Good watch

Hello! (2017):

Even when Akhil's debut has gone as a debacle,his sophomore film Hello! still got amazing buzz mostly because of its genius filmmaker Vikram K Kumar after masterpieces Manam and 24.I had huge expectations for this film and even trailer looked decent.Hello! is one of the rare pure romantic action entertainer in Tollywood.So how is the film?

Plot:

Seenu(Akhil) is an orphan who gets close to Junnu(Kalyani Priyadarshan) during his childhood days. They spend some good times together but unfortunately, destiny has other plans and divides them apart. Seenu grows older and gets a small clue about Junnu through a phone call. Right at the moment he tries to reach her, his phone gets stolen away. What will Seenu do now? How will he get back the phone? and What problems does he go through to meet his childhood crush? That forms the rest of the story.

My Review:

Director Vikram Kumar has established a name for him as someone who narrates complicated stories with extreme simplicity like Manam and 24. The highlight of his movies is the fresh approach in narration with a straightforward and engaging narrative. Hello is another film in the similar vein, and the director delivers, again.The plot may seem so outdated but there lies the talent of Vikram K Kumar as he narrated this film with amazing screenplay and emotions.

Even when the movie happens in a single day,Vikram K Kumar goes for two flashbacks which starts at perfect time.We do not feel any odd feel when the timeline jumps only because of Vikram Kumar's talented narration.One flashback is about how Akhil, an orphan and Kalyani bond as friends in their childhood. The other flashback involves Akhil and Kalyani accidentally meeting again as adults and liking each other, but they are still are looking for their childhood soul mates.Amidst this, there is an interesting angle of mobile-theft gang. Vikram Kumar is a master at weaving different threads seamlessly. He has brilliant talent to tell complex stories like 'Manam' and '24' so effortlessly and fluently. No wonder that he has merged all three threads here in 'Hello'.The way he gives importance to every minute detail shows how talented he is.

Hello's major strength is its beautiful emotional scenes with Ramya Krishna,Jagapathi Babu and Akhil.Vikram Kumar's brilliant touch is seen in the handling of the scene where Jagapathi Babu and Ramya Krishna ache to get called as mommy and daddy by Akhil than aunt and uncle.Even the childhood love track is cute.

While the major strength of the film is Vikram K Kumar, he is also a drawback for this film as this film is not a masterpiece like his earlier works.Second half is good but not as engaging as first half.

Akhil lives up to his expectations and does exactly what is required of him in his role. His screen presence, agility in the stunts and all his hard work is clearly visible on the screen.The stunts are different from the regular Indian movies and Akhil has pulled it off brilliantly.Kalyani Priyadarshan making her debut with Hello is impressive.She has a class and grace about her that's hard to come by. Her character, costumes, look and the whole shebang has a beautiful simplicity.Akhil and Kalyani simply look stunning together on the screen.Ramya Krishnan and Jagapathi Babu are striking even while showcasing the daily intricacies of life, be it them hiding from their son how hurt they are when he keeps addressing them as aunty and uncle, and even the joy when he finally calls them Amma and Nana.

Songs are good and BGM is decent.Cinematography is very good and during action scenes,it is amazing.Action stunts are completely novel as they are composed by Hollywood's famous stunt master Bob Brown. The chases are of international standard.

SO,Hello! is another proof of Vikram K Kumar's amazing talent as he told this simple story in an engaging manner with perfect emotions.

My Rating 7/10