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Varun Sandesh and Preetika Rao have worked together for a new film ‘Priyudu’. The movie released in Andhra Pradesh today and the film has been directed by Shravan. P. Uday Kiran is the Producer. The movie is very crucial for Varun Sandesh as he has been going through a lean phase lately. Let us see how the movie stacks up.

Story :

The biggest clue about the movie comes right at the very start. During the title cards, there is a slide that says ‘Inspired By Many Films’. That is a perfect description of the ‘story’. Karthik (Varun Sandesh) is a very rich guy who lives life to the fullest. He hates the concept of love and commitment as ‘they restrict freedom’. Into his life walks in Madhu (Preetika Rao), who falls for Karthik completely. Madhu’s father (Kasi Viswanath) and Karthik’s father (Nasser) happen to be friends. When they come to know about Madhu’s affection for Karthik, the families are overjoyed and an alliance is quickly forged.

Karthik is unhappy and he hatches a plan to get rid of Madhu without taking the blame. He starts becoming a love guru to a guy called Genius (Ranadhir), who happens to be an ardent follower of Madhu. Genius sets about winning the affection of Madhu with the help of Karthik’s expertise. Just when Madhu starts responding to Genius, something happens inside Karthik. What is it? Who will Madhu end up with? That forms the rest of the story.

Plus Points :

Varun Sandesh looks decent in the role of Karthik. Preetika Rao is ok as Madhu Latha. Kota Srinivasa Rao delivers a fine performance as Karthik’s Pedananna, but his role is very limited. The first half has some instances of comedy. Ali brings a few laughs with his characters of Kuphli Baba, Hukka Baba and Pungi Baba. Thagubothu Ramesh is decent and he appears now and then throughout the movie as a drunkard.

The song ‘Love lo Edo Pareshaan’ has been shot well in Thailand.

Minus Points :

Varun Sandesh is getting repetitive in his performances and he should watch out for that. Preetika Rao needs to brush up her acting skills fast if she wants to survive in this industry. Vennela Kishore is wasted in the role of Vaibhav Reddy. He has one or two good moments in the movie, but the rest of his scenes are poorly written. The second half drags along at a very poor pace. There are two fights in the movie and neither of them are well integrated into the story. They appear forced.

Screenplay is terrible and one gets the feeling that the director had no clue as to what the story is. The scenes are excessively melodramatic and they are made worse by poor acting. Most of the actors sleep walked through their roles. Karthik and Madhu keep sacrificing anything and everything for the happiness of the other person in an utterly unrealistic fashion.

The ’emotional scenes’ fail to connect and one can’t help but wonder at the unnecessary complication of the plot. Shweta Basu Prasad only makes a cameo appearance in the movie.

Technical Aspects :

Quality of cinematography is inconsistent. Some of the songs have been shot well but the camera work is shoddy in other places. Dialogues are a major minus. They do not evoke any interest in the proceedings except for a few one liners. Editing is ok. Music is strictly average and there are no melodious numbers worth mentioning.

Verdict :

Priyudu is a film that has not much going for it except for some instances of humour in the first half. The director had no clue as to what was going on in the film. Poor handling of the screenplay and an excessively dragged out second half are major culprits.The movie heavily draws upon scenes from many successful Telugu movies, but the end result is a mess. Varun Sandesh will have to wait some more for that elusive hit.

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Mahesh K.S

123telugu.com Rating : 2.5 / 5

Legend: 5 – Flawless

4 – Must Watch

3 – One Time Watch

2 – Wait for the DVD

1 – Stay Away