Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe review: ‘Mother of all coincidences’, yet entertaining

Director Sunil Kumar, popularly known by his screen name Simple Suni, leaves a message for the audience at the beginning of Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe.

He says there will be a double twist in the climax part of the story, and hence, one should not miss the closing credits.

Well, the director believes the audience who have paid the amount in full to buy tickets for Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe should not feel left out in the end.

Now, a simple question may crop up in your mind after reading the message from the filmmaker: Is it worth the wait, and most importantly, does the film entertain and remind us of our loved ones?

Well, the answer is…

Synopsis

The story begins with Athishay (Vinay Rajkumar), an aspiring music director, introducing himself and his two biggest dreams in his life. One is to be a successful music director, and the other is to find a girl who matches the rhythm of his feelings.

Will Athishay be able to fulfil his two dreams? Well, this is what Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe is all about.

Athishay comes from a joint family with all kinds of characters present, including Anuraga (Swathista Krishnan).

There is a background story attached to almost all support characters.

Now, let’s begin with Rajasthan. Confused? Well, it’s just the start.

Mind you! As the title says, this ‘simple love story’ is not all that simple.

The plot has enough twists and is wrapped in some good melodies to make the two-and-a-half-hour romantic suspenseful journey memorable.

Also Read: Director Simple Suni’s next love story has 11 songs

Simple, yet entertaining

Simple Suni is a huge cricket fan, and people who ardently follow him must be aware of this.

He loves cricket as much as he passionately makes feature films.

To explain it in cricketing terminology, Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe starts like a test match with hardly any runs being scored. Once the players feel confident about the pitch, they slowly start making runs. The same is the case with this venture, too.

The first half an hour, this romantic musical is about establishing the characters. Things get interesting only when it is close to breaking for the interval. Till then, there are a few typical one-liners that evoke some laughter.

Once the plot thickens with Athishay tricked into marrying his childhood buddy Anuraaga, who too is not interested in him, the love story finds the right base for fun and entertainment.

Vinay as Athishay

While Vinay Rajkumar has delivered his best in all his previous ventures, the films have failed to make a good impact at the box office.

Coming from the first family in the Kannada film industry, expectations are naturally high when carrying the legacy of his grandfather and Kannada legendary actor Dr Rajkumar, his two uncles, and his father Raghavendra Rajkumar, who delivered superhits films.

Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe is simple but effective because Athishay is not a typical hero character who is often seen delivering punching dialogues and single-handedly fights dozens of villains or making the prettiest girl in town hopelessly fall in love with him.

Indeed, there are no dances or fights and so on.

At the max, Vinay Rajkumar’s character has a few one-liner jokes —that too, situational-based ones. He gels well with the character of Athishay on the screen.

Swathishta has a meaty role, which she shoulders pretty much well.

Talking about being pretty, Malika Singh as Madhura is a musical filler in the romantic tale.

Also Read: Sanjay Dutt to play ‘Khala Nayaka’ in Challenging Star Darshan’s next

Mother of all coincidences

Why call this a “mother of all coincidences” is better known when the audience experiences it first hand. Well, the suspense revolves around a song, which Athishay overhears at one point in time and instantly falls in love with the voice.

The voice strikes his rhythmic feeling inside him.

Simple Suni brilliantly complicates things to maintain the suspense right to the end. Hence, he calls it a double twist in the end.

Music director Veer Samarth has the right notes to make this a musical love story.

Final take

While the innings start like a test match with hardly any runs being scored, Ondu Sarala Prema Kathe shifts to 20-20 mode, with every ball being hit for a four or a six in the final overs.

Whether it is a draw or results as a winner in the end, the match, as a whole, surely entertains. It is simple yet entertaining.

(Views expressed here are personal.)