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‘Vennela’ was a movie which scored well when it released many years back, launching the careers of Vennela Kishore and Deva Katta. Now Kishore has come up with a sequel to that movie and it has been titled ‘Vennela 1 1/2’. The movie is releasing today across the world so let us see how it is.

Story :

Krishna Krishna or KK (Chaitanya) is a rich guy who stays in Bangkok and he makes it his profession to split couples who are in love. He is famous for it and he is given the task of splitting the couple of Vennela (Monal Gajjar) and Sravan (Sravan). He tries to achieve this by coming into their lives as a ‘Love Guru’ and he sets about plotting the breakup of this couple.

Into this scenario come Khadar (Vennela Kishore) and Sunil (Madhu) come into the film as transfer students from the US. They lease out an apartment from KK and his friend Yuvak .The whole story is narrated by Khadar as a flashback to Thagubothu Ramesh. Papachand (Brahmanandam) also joins the proceedings as a pleasure seeking Bangkok tourist.

The rest of the story is a comedy of errors as all the characters conspire to create mayhem on screen.

Plus Points :

Thagubothu Ramesh is perhaps the most easily appreciated plus point of this movie. He keeps popping up right through the film’s narration and his expressions are good. Brahmanandam is ok and he actually makes a better impression with his silent performance during the ‘Live Interval’.

Chaitanya Krishna is decent in the role of KK. The live interval concept in the film is good and is easily the best part of the film. As the live interval unfolds, viewers will be reminded of the classic film ‘Pushpaka Vimanam’.

Minus Points :

Monal Gajjar does not make a favourable impression in this movie and her acting skills leave much to be desired. Vennela Kishore goes over the top way too often and he should have shown some restraint. Sravan is wasted in a poor role.

Same goes for Giri and Raghubabu. Their short roles are badly written and they do not make a positive impression. Pridhvi (30 years industry fame) is also wasted in the movie. The film is badly written and screenplay is completely messy. There are many bloopers in the movie, like one scene where the front portion of the car is a Toyota whereas the rear is shown as an Audi.

Master Bharath is a big disappointment. He usually is a brilliant artiste but he could not do much in this movie. The guy who played the role of Yuvak actually irritates with his over the top histrionics.

The film is one big study in confusion, as it tries to be a chic adult comedy while appealing to mass commercial sentiments at the same time. Vennela Kishore does not make a favourable impression in the direction and screenplay departments. The plot is wafer thin and there is absolutely nothing in the film to keep the viewers entertained.

Very few comedy scenes actually work and make you laugh. The heroine is missing for most of the second half, right until the climax. There is hardly any emotional justification for the romantic track and many scenes do not have any connection with the plot.

Technical Aspects :

Cinematography is decent and DI work is good. Sunil Kashyap’s music is a letdown and re-recording is very bad. It does not lend any support to key scenes whatsoever. Editing could have been better. Dialogues are bad.

Direction and screenplay are the biggest minus points of the movie and Vennela Kishore should have shown some clarity and maturity in handling the film.

Verdict :

If you are a fan of the original ‘Vennela’ and go in for this movie expecting something similar, you will be sorely disappointed. I was a fan of Vennela Kishore the actor. But I am not going to be a fan of Vennela Kishore the director.

123telugu Rating : NA – As we are the media partners of the film, it is not ethical to rate a movie that we have promoted.

Reviewed by Mahesh S Koneru

Click Here For ‘Vennela one and half’ Telugu Review