The last movie that you saw Tarun in was
Oka Oorilo in 2005. Actually, perhaps not - nobody saw that movie, highly placed sources tell us. Unfortunately, that included Tarun - not the highly placed sources, but the nobody. After about 5 flops in a row, he officially became a nobody in Tollywood, which was kinda sad since he could actually act. It comes as no surprise then that he would like his latest movie to be hit.
Unfortunately, there is only so much of boredom and ridiculousity (look it up) that an average human being can take, and whether we like it or not, we are all average human beings. Nava Vasantham showcases an almost impossibly good person, packaged in plenty of melodrama and crappy script-writing. To be fair to it, it does move you in the end, but several people would have already moved by then.
Unlike what the promos seem to suggest, Nava Vasantham is no soft romantic comedy. It's a tale of selfless sacrifice, and requires you to show the same by spending your money and time on it. Vijay (Sunil), Prasad (Rohit) and Raja (Akash) are 3 bachelors living in a room without paying the rent. This is not really the general practice, and so when their landlord tells them that they have to accommodate another young man Ganesh (Tarun) for a few days, they have no option but to acquiesce.
Fortunately, Ganesh turns out to be an old friend, and when the trio realize that he is broke, they pitch in to help him eat everyday and even celebrate his birthday, despite being broke themselves. When Ganesh realizes this, he is overwhelmed by their kindness, and when he realizes that they are all talented people being denied opportunities due to their penury, sells the gold chain his mother gave him before dying, and gives them money to pay up their dues and starts a small food business himself.
Only, all this happens at the pace of a snail on a sabbatical, and lacks that all-important ingredient of a mass Telugu movie - comedy. The first half is slow and boring, and Priyamani and romance are completely absent. The tale progresses to show Ganesh sacrificing his own financial success again and again to come to the aid of his friends, and them finally succeeding. The film could have still had some respectability had it not show Sunil substituting a whole orchestra with his mimicry, and turning a celebrity because of that. It single-handedly makes the tale ridiculous.
In a world where you'll be considered a good person if you just aren't bad, Ganesh's character easily stands out for its outstanding selflessness. However, that's about the only plus in the film, which sees a sagging first half, and a second marred by the thoughtless mimicry jig and illogical actions and utterances by the successful trio of Vijay, Prasad and Raja in the build-up to the climax onstage.
Tarun delivers a good act as usual, as does Priyamani who gets screentime almost exclusively in the second half. Sunil's comedy is pretty ordinarily written. Akash and Rohit do their bit in a movie that does not really belong to them. The music by S A Rajkumar is ordinary stuff.
This remake of Punnagai Desam in Tamil, also starring Tarun, is unlikely to strike a chord with you despite a good storyline, thanks to a sloppy screenplay. Watch it only in an emergency.