A Aa Review

That Trivikram commands respect among the classes is a known fact. That the masses also respect him immensely is something that this reviewer realized only today. The crowd squealed when Samantha came on screen, hollered for Nitin when he strode on, but positively roared when the "Story-Direction: Trivikram" credit flashed on the screen. No wonder the theatre was packed to its gills.

Come interval, you've laughed a bit, you've enjoyed Samantha's cutesy expressions, you've seen Nitin up his subtle a few notches, and you've revelled in some great cinematography. And you're wondering yet again how the masses will take to this - or if they will take to this at all. But by the time you've walked out at the end, your doubts are fully dispelled. Everyone laughs out loud at the last line that Rao Ramesh utters, and walks out with a smug smile on their face. Mass or class - all we clearly want is a movie that will put that liberating smile on our faces.

There you go, then - A Aa will leave you with a smile on your face for sure. Trivikram the writer is in fine fettle here. The film is about Anand Vihari (Nitin), a guy who runs a small time catering business, and Anasuya Ramalingam (Samantha), the daughter of a rich entrepreneur Mahalakshmi (Nadhiya) and the owner of AnaSol (Anasuya Solutions), a software firm. Anand and Anasuya are "bava-maradallu" but have never met until the beginning of A Aa due to some family issues. Anasuya visits Anand's village for a holiday and the inevitable attraction is sparked off.

Anasuya, however, has been promised to Sekhar (Srinivas Avasarala), and Anand is to marry Nagavalli (Anupama Parameswaran), the daughter of the village zamindar Pallam Venkanna (a brilliant Rao Ramesh). How Anand's and Anasuya's families come together and the complex knot of the above relationships is resolved happily forms the rest of A Aa.

Like we mentioned earlier, Trivikram is in form here, and his razor sharp lines keep the film going. The storyline is wafer-thin really, and some of the scenes are outright silly and lack logic, but the audiences continue laughing, first in anticipation of the joke and then at the joke. While you may laugh at a few scenes, you will laugh with the characters most of the time. The songs are incidental to the film and not intrusive, and that helps, too. The action part is also settled away quickly - no unwarranted heroism and gravity-defying stunts here.

Nitin, like we mentioned earlier, is subtle and gives a fine performance. His tendency to rush with his dialogues is curtailed quite a bit, and this helps as he is given some heavy duty lines that needed some gravitas. Samantha is cute and carries off her role quite well - quite a difference from her stock expression roles in the recent past. The supporting cast fit the bill wonderfully - Rao Ramesh is getting even better with every movie, and the scenes he's in are superb. Naresh, Srinivas Reddy, Nadhiya, Ananya, Praveen and a few others are all splendid, too. The only one who gets a raw deal is Anupama Parameswaran - that she should get such an ill-conceived role for her Telugu debut is quite sad.

The film is technically sound, and you wouldn't expect any less from a Trivikram movie. If you've been ruing the lack of a proper "family" movie this summer, your prayers have been answered - take your family along for this one.