A bizarre love triangle

Kadhali, the small-budget film that hits the marquee this week, marks the debut of director Pattabhi. The film received a lot of pre-release publicity based on the fact that the director is a childhood friend of Telangana IT minister K.T. Rama Rao. Leading actor Ram Charan had attended the film’s audio release, quite an honour for a small film, while leading producer and distributor Suresh Babu has taken up the task of distributing the film. Pattabhi R. Chilukuri is also the producer of this small film.

The story revolves around a girl Bandhavi (Pooja Doshi), who works as a physiotherapist. All her father’s efforts to find a good match for her are in vain. Finally, a dear friend advises her to start looking for somebody whom she can fall in love with and marry, instead of agreeing for an arranged match. Soon she meets Karthik (Harish Kalyan), a traveller. The two gel and it seems as though a happy future is being written. But one day, he suddenly ups and goes, deserting her. Her state of desolation doesn't last too long though.

Soon she meets Kranthi (Sai Ronak), a rich businessman's son. Kranthi has an anger management issue and gets feisty and angry at the slightest provocation. Bandhavi asks him to seek help. The duo draw close to one another. And then, her travelling ex-boyfriend returns.

The story then is about her choices. Both men are in love with her. Whom does she choose and who does she reject?

Performances in the film are fairly good. Pooja Doshi playing the central character of Bandhavi, is convincing. But her voice has been dubbed and that is not so commendable. Harish Kalyan is a good looking young man and a fairly competent actor. So is the other actor Sai Ronak. Sandhya Jhanak, playing the mother, is largely expressionless. Sudharshan, on the other hand, does succeed in getting the jokes across. The cinematography is good with beautiful locations.

So, if everything is so hunky dory, what is the issue? The issue is the film itself. A story that has been flogged to death and beyond is the core of the film's utterly boring track. Who does a love triangle these days? Secondly, Pattabhi’s inexpertise as a director kills the film. The scenes are placed one after the other like a documented project with no space for creativity. The storytelling is jerky and boring. Some of the scenes are so badly handled, especially the ones between mother and son, you want to weep…or hide. Thankfully, the music is somehow good and so are the lyrics.

This film can only work as a learning ground for the debutant director. For the rest of us, it is a complete nono.