Not up to the expectations!
Phalana Abbayi Phalana Ammayi (Telugu)
- Cast: Naga Shaurya, Malvika Nair, Srinivas Avasarala, Megha Chowdhury, Ashok Kumar, Abhishek Maharshi, Srividhya, Varanasi Soumya Chalamcharla, Harini Rao, and Arjun Prasad
- Director: Srinivas Avasarala
- Producers: TG Vishwa Prasad and Padmaja Dasari
- Music: Kalyani Malik
- Runtime: 2 hours 6 minutes
Actor-director Srinivas Avasarala has carved a niche for himself in Tollywood as a sensible writer and director. For his latest release, Phalana Abbayi Phalana Ammayi, he teamed up once again with Naga Shaurya.
The duo earlier delivered two runaway hits — Oohalu Gusahusalade (2014) and Jyo Achyutananda (2016).
Now, let’s see how their third project scores at the box office:
Synopsis
Sanjay (Naga Shaurya) and Anupama (Malvika) join the same engineering college in Visakhapatnam.
Friendship blossoms between them, though Anupama is senior to Sanjay by a year. Their friendship turns into love when they leave for London to pursue their Master’s degree. They even live together.
When everything seems to be going fine, Anupama suffers from a serious illness and undergoes surgery.
All her friends stay by her side during the surgery except Sanjay and this hurts Anupama. Gradually, distance creeps into their relationship and they get separated.
Phalana Abbayi Phalana Ammayi answers questions like why Sanjay stays away from Anupama when she is battling for life and whether will they both unite again.
Shortcomings in screenplay and treatment
As a story, Phalana Abbayi Phalana Ammayi is based on a thin line. In such a case, the director has to focus on the screenplay and treatment.
But Srinivas Avasarala lets the audience down here. Slow narration, lack of a strong relationship and struggle between Sanjay and Anupama don’t let the audience relate to the characters or get involved in the movie.
Also Read: D3 Tamil movie review
Srinivas Avasarala is a good writer and comes up with witty dialogues. Even that goes missing in the flick.
Barring a few scenes, most of the movie runs without engaging the audience.
Sanjay & Anupama will meet you in theatres from today😍💞
Book your 🎟 👇https://t.co/Y4NEIpGQW2#PAPA#PAPAInTheatres@IamNagashaurya @iamMalavikaNair#SrinivasAvasarala @vishwaprasadtg@vivekkuchibotla @peoplemediafcy#DasariProductions pic.twitter.com/Oxy8xSG76J
— People Media Factory (@peoplemediafcy) March 16, 2023
Naga Shaurya and Malvika all the way
Naga Shaurya and Malvika Nair own most of the runtime. There is no other strong character in the film barring the lead pair.
Having done a couple of movies like these in the past, they both essay their roles effortlessly and with ease.
Srinivas Avasarala appears in a guest role. So do Harini Rao, Megha Chaudhary and Sri Vidya.
Neatly shot
The only saving grace of this love story is that it is neatly shot. Cinematographer Sunil Kumar Nama makes the whole film look beautiful.
Senior music director Kalyani Malik composed both the songs and the background score. A couple of songs are really good.
Editor Kiran Ganti should have shortened the movie as it is difficult to make audiences sit throughout this wafer-thin storyline.
Also Read: Kabzaa Kannada movie review
Final take
Srinivas Avasarala and Naga Shaurya are known for the romantic comedies — Oohalu Gusagusalade and Jyo Achyutananda. But sadly, Phalana Abbayi Phalana Ammayi is no way near the mark.
(Views expressed are personal.)
