Oftentimes you eat at a restaurant and when someone asks you how the food was, you give them a shrug, because you can’t quite think of anything negative to say. When they ask you if you’d ever go there, you spontaneously say ‘No’. The only thing you are clear about the experience is that it wasn’t enjoyable and you don’t want a repeat of it. Nannu Dochukunduvate gives you a similar experience. It is one of those midnight meals you cook for yourself, when taste takes a backseat and you just go through the motions.
The movie’s protagonist Karthik (Sudheer Babu) is a workaholic with a concrete career goal – going to the US. There is the usual cliched, inaccurate representation of a software company – the writer and director RS Naidu seems a touch outdated with the software industry. Nabha Natesh is Meghna, a short film heroine who has to help out Karthik avoid a marriage by pretending to be his girlfriend. Meghna is likable, bubbly, over-emotive at times, and resourceful. She charms Karthik’s dad (Nassar) who finally warms up to her and gives up on the idea that his son should marry his brother-in-law’s daughter. The plot meanders through the usual dad-finds-the-truth while the pretention-turns-into-real-love, and the movie hurtles towards an eventless, listless, spice-less predictable ending.
The entire movie is hinged on two things – Karthik is usually all about himself, and Karthik’s secret dream is to get back all the farmlands his dad was once cheated of – something no one understands and you can’t blame them, it’s one of those numb, expressionless characters. Had these two pillars of the story worked, the movie would have made for a good watch. But the characterisation fails and the confusion of the writer leaks through the plot – it is almost as if they thought of one story and ended up with another.
Meghna’s character, despite the emotive range offered to it, puzzles. If the protagonist is a cold guy, why would she fall in love with him? The love story itself barely has any moments of magic. The set-piece of a sophisticated workaholic doesn’t come out in Sudheer’s portrayal, and for someone like that to go on a jolly love-ride and lose focus on his work because of his affections for a girl (he isn’t shown caring about) is a little too long a bridge to cross.
It doesn’t help that Sudheer Babu still struggles a little with fluent dialogue delivery. It doesn’t help that he seems perpetually irreverent, annoyed and zoned-out. He has screen presence and at times, shines in the right angles. But, the hero is expected to carry a lot more weight. Nabha Natesh is on the other end of the spectrum, too expressive and too emotive. While it doesn’t really turn annoying, it leaves a gaping hole – her emotive exuberance doesn’t gel with the staid, cold listlessness of the guy she falls in love with and the writer doesn’t give us any reasons to relate to them.
Fresh from the success of Sammohanam, Sudheer Babu promised much with this movie. The posters and look and feel of this movie did promise a lilting love story. But, the movie focuses more on laughs at times (and succeeds quite often, thank god at least for that) than on the actual chemistry between the two lead characters. The background score barely registers and that is a travesty considering how love stories rely heavily on music.
All in all, it is not a movie that is so bad you’ll hate it. But it isn’t a movie that you may want to spend three hours on, especially if you like taking something back with you from a movie hall!
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film’s producers or any other members of its cast and crew.