Umapathi review: A love story set amidst two village rivalries

Films with village backdrops are always fascinating as they weave captivating narratives, especially when centred around love.

Avika Gor and Anuragh’s latest release Umapathi is one such romantic film. Let’s see if it has any juice.

Umapathi is a typical rural story that any Telugu movie can get. Vara (Anuragh) is a happy-go-lucky youth from Kothapalli village.

While his father toils hard in Dubai to run the house back home, he grows up without proper guidance nor does he know the hardships of his father at the workplace.

He falls in love with Uma (Avika Gor) from the neighbouring village, Dosakayapalli.

Interestingly, the rivalry between the villages turns ugly this time. Moreover, Uma’s brother develops grouse in the opposite village.

What is in store for these love birds? How does Vara win his love amidst the complexities between the two villages? What is the root cause of this unresolved problem, what Vara does do to get his girl? — is the story of Umapathi.

Related: Avika Gor’s village story ‘Umapathi’ to release on 29 December

Analysis

Director Satya Dwarapudi skillfully tailors the straightforward narrative to align with Telugu nativity.

While we have encountered similar stories on several occasions, Umapathi brings a sense of refreshment to its storytelling. However, the film is not without its flaws.

Satya Dwarapudi effectively captures the essence of the first half by intertwining scenes with the right emotions — the distance between the lead pair and allowing love to blossom. Nevertheless, there seems to be a slight disruption at the interval to render a surprise.

The crux of the matter unfolds in the second half. The director successfully portrays the conflict between the villages and how it is intertwined with the love story.

The pre-climax and climax evoke a bit of emotion. Ultimately, the movie concludes in the typical fashion that we regularly encounter in Telugu movies.

While the first half offers good entertainment with varied emotions, the second half takes audiences on a more emotional ride.

Anuragh-Avika Gor’s chemistry works

The heart of Umapathi is Anuragh and Avika Gor’s journey and to what extent they both go to win people’s hearts.

However, this cute love story has more of a boy-meets-girl sequence and the regular village rivalry template that we usually see in Telugu films.

Avika Gor has been doing movies back-to-back in Telugu. But the only setback is she has been fumbling in choosing the scripts.

Having been in the industry for many years now, Avika Gor should have at least aimed for scripts which have good content, if not for accepting regular run-of-the-mill stories.

Starring almost all new faces from the industry except Avika Gor and a few other supporting roles, director-actor Anuragh tried to weave a compelling love story in the backdrop of two villages taking every petty onto the roads.

Related: I married 20 times, yet being a bride feels so refreshing: Avika Gor

Performances

Avika Gor is a delightful mix of fun and adept acting. She delivers a splendid performance as a conservative girl hailing from a remote village. Her graceful presence lit the screen in most of the scenes.

On the other hand, Anuragh displays great performance by blending action, comedy, and romance. As an irresponsible village youngster, he doesn’t look like a newbie.

The supporting cast too chipped in well for the remaining part.

From a technical standpoint, the songs and background score contribute to the movie. The background is pleasing but the singles are routine. The visuals are organic though.

Some dialogues are emotionally resonant. However, Anuragh couldn’t avoid redundancy.

The editing looks crisp in a few parts. The production values meet the standards.

Verdict

Avika Gor and Anuragh shine in this village love story with an underlying theme of village feud.

With a convincing first half, Umapathi slips into a repetitive mode until a slightly different climax saves it.

(Views expressed here are personal.)