Nenu Nanna Abaddam Review

Pick a Telugu masala plot you consider least exciting - despite containing romance, fights, goons, songs, et al. Now, wipe make-up out from everyone's faces, and make the hero completely incapable (in mind and body) of handling life (and, let's not forget, of protecting himself from serious injuries). Then, give the film a drab look.

Now, let us know if anyone turns up.

Nenu Nanna Abaddam is an art movie with a severely limited sense of purpose. It features an unremarkable love story that doesn't merit a script being woven around it in the first place, and then grapples between art and commerce in a battle that was lost at the word go.

The plot is set in Tuni, and is about how the college-going Kiran (Nandu) and Abhi (Divya) fall in love with each other, and how fate wills them to be together despite terrible odds. Kiran is a cobbler's son, and Abhi is a servant-maid in the house of the village big-shot. Abhi's employer is creepily possessive about her, and anyone who gives her a hard time at college gets maimed by the morning after. A twist follows, and suddenly, the lives of Kiran and Abhi are in danger.

The end of the movie has various characters making emotional speeches about how this is an amazing example of "true love" amid "this fast culture"; and also of how parents must give in to their children's pleas of getting married to their lovers, especially if the former are on the brink of suicide.

Most of our movies have one key flaw - their glorification of what clearly seems like hormone-driven infatuation. Still, the bigger movies help you ignore the superficiality of filmi relationships, thanks to skilled writing and the sheen of high production values.

However, in NNA, you are never whole-heartedly rooting for the couple. Their midnight trysts and their eloping are probably intended to look highly romantic, but they actually look like things a couple of incredibly stupid and reckless teenagers would do. It is especially exasperating to watch Kiran force Nandu into those "cute" meetings. Doesn't he get the fact that Abhi's ayyagaru can do anything to them that he wishes to?

Plus, the bad things that keep happening to them lend an ominous feel to the whole story. This, despite a happy ending.

To blow it further, there are several ridiculous things that keep happening in the story. We're introduced to the little diversion of Kiran's admirer flirting with him, but this sub-plot gives rise to an extremely wild twist that leaves you dumbfounded.

Then, Krishnudu's cameo is highly absurd. Also, Abhi's background story isn't too well-developed. A couple of songs seem force-fitted into the script, and are out-of-place.

The comedy tracks with Krishna Bhagawan and Dharmavarapu, however, manage to entertain a bit, despite being a little silly.

Nandu and Divya are charming, talented youngsters comfortable in their skin, and have a bright future, even if only in the parallel film genre. The man playing the chinnayyagaru's role is amateurish, but the rest of the actors are pretty good.

The music aims a little high, but like we said, the songs that try hard to make this a "normal film" could have been done away with. The visuals are extremely drab, meanwhile.

In all, this one's for an extremely limited audience, and doesn't really aspire for more than that. Skip it.