8 Vasantalu Review

The '80s and '90s are a bygone era where romance is concerned - both in time and in spirit. Back then, love in cinema was raw, impassioned and uncompromising. It was "do or die" love, fueled by youthful hormones and undeterred by social boundaries. Caste divisions, class disparities and bitter rivalries often stood in the way, yet the lovers were willing to sacrifice everything - even their lives - for each other. There was a certain madness in that love, a purity that made it unforgettable.

Tollywood still makes romantic films today, but they don't hit with the same emotional intensity. Modern love stories are often buried under the weight of ambition, career struggles and familial expectations. Love exists, but it lingers in the background - hesitant, confused and negotiable.

This sentiment echoes in 8 Vasantalu, a film that promises romance even in its title, but ultimately sidesteps it. Despite its overt declaration, the movie feels more like a chronicle of everything surrounding love rather than love itself. The passion, the recklessness, the urgency - that old-school cinematic romance - feel conspicuously absent.

Shuddhi Ayodhya (Ananthika Sanilkumar) is no ordinary teenager. At just 17, she is already a best-selling author and a disciplined martial arts prodigy. She stumbles upon Varun (Hanu Reddy), a brash US-returnee who dismissively claims that martial arts are a man's domain and that women belong in the kitchen. Shuddhi swiftly proves him wrong - both in skill and spirit - by defeating him at the dojo (a form of martial art).

But the humiliation sparks something unexpected in Varun: admiration. Drawn to Shuddhi's brilliance and inner strength, he spends a year trying to win her over. Eventually, Shuddhi opens her heart to him.

Yet, even as love begins to blossom, life pulls them in different directions. Varun, driven by his father's unrelenting dream, is chasing admission to the prestigious Berkeley College. When the time comes, he is faced with a cruel choice: pursue love or chase the dream. He chooses the latter, leaving Shuddhi behind.

What follows is a coming-of-age journey - of Shuddhi and Varun, and of the close-knit group of friends who navigate ambition, heartbreak and identity.

Director Phanindra Narsetti makes the movie run smoothly for almost the whole first half, but then he starts juggling too many elements. He has lofty ideas, stunning visuals, touching music and raw performances to work with. Every individual department - except the script - is in a class of its own. However, the script begins to meander after the halfway mark, and by the end everything feels contrived. Each sequence is impressive on its own, but when combined, the result, while not exactly a mess, is definitely confusing and at times misleading.

It just doesn't add up: characters who are brilliant, self-aware and emotionally mature still make knowingly wrong decisions just to appease their parents - despite fully understanding it will hurt everyone involved in the long run.

Also, Shuddhi, who confidently proclaims that "life is all about the journey, not the destination" and "love is a phase in life, not the purpose", is still left heartbroken when Varun leaves her. It is a paradox that undercuts her earlier convictions - and makes you question whether those lines were ever more than just philosophical fillers.

Indeed, there is a jarring disconnect between the characters' supposedly progressive worldviews and their actions, especially their unquestioning obedience to parental expectations. The emotional choices don't align with the way these characters are otherwise portrayed, creating a sense of dissonance that breaks the story's credibility.

At that tender, formative age (teens), you typically choose one path - love, passion or obedience. You don't play emotional chess with all three, trying to keep everyone happy while inevitably betraying yourself. So, the story feels more like a product of algorithmic screenwriting - designed to engineer emotional highs and lows - than something rooted in believable human behaviour. The constant urge to create emotional high points becomes pointless at some point.

And this in 2025, a time when society has evolved in its views on individuality and choice. It's high time filmmakers caught up, too.

Many of the individual sequences in the film feel poorly scripted and disconnected from the larger narrative. Take, for instance, the scene where Shuddhi's martial arts master, who is terminally ill and expected to die within days, musters just enough strength to coach her for a black belt - only to quietly pass away the very next morning before anyone wakes up. It's overly dramatized and borders on parody. What's more, this moment has little to no bearing on the plot - it feels entirely ornamental.

Another sequence takes place in Kashi, where a group of shady characters lure Shuddhi into the city's dark alleys. In true cinematic fashion, she takes them all down single-handedly, and the next day, she calmly performs her master's last rites by immersing his ashes in the Ganges. It's stylized, yes, but emotionally hollow and thematically redundant. We get it - she is a gifted writer and a martial arts expert. But the film seems obsessed with proving this over and over through elaborate, unnecessary set pieces. Truthfully, nothing would have been lost if Shuddhi were portrayed solely as a writer. Her strength, determination and depth could have been conveyed through character, not combat.

I could go on and on... and we're still talking about mostly Varun and Shuddhi. There are two more love stories - one between Karthik and Anita, and another between Shuddhi (again) and Sanjay. Sanjay is an orphan turned rogue, turned writer, turned philanthropist, who was also pursuing Shuddhi for eight years (hence 8 Vasantalu), though she gets to know about it at the climax.

Visually, the film is a treat. It beautifully captures the misty charm of Ooty in the rains and the golden hues of autumn in Kashmir. The background score and songs complement the visuals well, enhancing the mood without overwhelming it. The young ensemble cast deliver sincere performances. The cinematography and technical aspects are all top-notch - the screenplay flows smoothly, and in many ways, you couldn't ask for more.

That is, as we said, until you look at the script. While everything else holds together, the story itself lacks depth and coherence. It is the one piece that doesn't quite match the polish of the rest.

Save it for Netflix. It will be there sooner than you think.