Aa Okkati Adakku review: This stale comedy is not so thirst-quenching for Allari Naresh fans

“Bachelor taken to task for being unmarried” — If you track the storylines of Telugu films that explored this aspect of life, the banters aimed at the protagonist are usually lame and routine as though he sinned his life.

Every scene and dialogue is about this aspect of unmarried status.

Aa Okkati Adakku is one such film about “still bachelor” Ganpathi (played by Allari Naresh).

Synopsis

Having an eligible criterion of being a government employee, Ganapathi’s marriage gets delayed due to too many family responsibilities.

This aged bachelor finds the profile of Siddhi (Faria Adbullah) on the matrimonial site.

Though he has a liking for Siddhi, she rejects him on the first request.

Ganapathi gets the shock of his life when news breaks about Siddhi in the media

A fraud profile, Siddhi emotionally manipulates individuals for financial gain.

What’s in store for Ganapathi who develops feelings for Siddhi and how he goes about it is the latter story.

Also Read: Allari Naresh opens up about his makeup woes during ‘Laddu Babu’

Bad writing & poor jokes

The tendency to hyper-focus on the unmarried status or flaws that the lead character has is usually a routine mould that we keep seeing in Telugu cinema.

This theme often makes every scene and dialogue unbearable with routine jibes and banters.

It’s a recurring pattern where the protagonist’s unmarried status becomes the central point of discussion in a family and other circles.

The characters in Aa Okkati Adakku are reduced to mere clowns as they keep flashing on the screen one after the other.

The flashback sequences appear rather silly. Numerous scenes throughout the film seem disjointed.

Though the narrative seems to be overarching covering multiple aspects of the story, the screenplay goes for a toss.

The first half is largely tedious for most of the runtime.

Furthermore adding to fatigue, the post-interval scenes are a real test for your patience.

Story deviates from track

The plot goes out of track, and the scenes that are forcefully injected into the story appear as if the director is making a television soap out of crime comedy.

The humour is subpar, with scenes that literally irritate you.

Director Malli Ankam briefly touches upon the issue of fake marriages and NRI weddings facilitated through matrimonial services. But the approach is more like a documentary one.

However, despite being promoted as a comedy caper, Aa Okkati Adakku has a serious drama tackling a relatable subject of the present trend.

But it deviates from the track and dishes out a stale comedy at a time when audiences want something refreshing from Allari Naresh’s trademark comedy.

Allari Naresh’s trademark comedy missing

Allari Naresh delivers an okayish performance in the role of Ganapathi.

Though he earned the brownie points with his comedy timing like the way he usually does, the humour isn’t enough to tickle the funny bones. He is lost in the second half.

Faria Abdullah delivers a good performance, with good chemistry alongside Naresh.

Jamie Lever makes a promising debut. She displays excellent comedy timing and expressions.

However, the supporting cast, including Gokraju Ramana and Prudhvi, are not utilised well.

Poor production values

The director falls short in various aspects, with one of the major drawbacks being the film’s production values.

You notice green mats used in numerous scenes. This indicates the makers had budget constraints. And the rushed making apparently visible in its work.

The camerawork isn’t to the mark.

Gopi Sundar’s music should be hailed for his decent singles. But you occasionally find a mismatch with loud background music that doesn’t complement the story.

Additionally, the story lags due to ineffective comedy and weak writing.

Verdict

Aa Okkati Adakku is a serious film with completely poor comedy. Makers should realise that they saved a lot of money and time by not committing a sequel to it.

With a not-so-convincing climax, it serves an instant refreshing drink for audiences this summer that is neither tasty nor thirst-quenching.

(Views expressed here are personal.)