Pellam Oorelte Review

S V Krishna Reddy's comeback movie is based on the simple assumption that 'All men are not idiots, some are bachelors; all women are not annoying, some are dead.' The result is a goofy movie that would have been both idiotic and annoying, but for the last 30 minutes of some really funny comedy of errors.

If the menfolk out there are expecting an exciting anthology on the escapades of men when their wives are out in town, well, the corny title is about as true as the 'All-New Improved Super Naya' suffix on the Surf Excel carton. On the contrary, the flick does wonders for women's egos. What fun it is to watch the men scurry away at the sight of their wives, going down on their knees begging for mercy, and stuttering, stammering, scimpering and scampering to please their women!

The script is totally cabanger and jaded - in fact, one that SVK already used in one of his previous movies (Maavi Chiguru) about a suspicious wife and an honest man. Vivek (Srikanth) is a yo-ho advertising guy who has to keep proving to his wife Sandhya (Sangeeta) that he has a high-fidelity quotient, that he is loyal, faithful, honest etc.

He does have dirty thoughts about other women, but he steadfastly avoids acting on his fantasies. Until one day when wifey goes out of town, and he gives in to a wham-bham-thank-you ma'm affair - well, almost. But the untimely arrival of his better half (women and their superb timing) ensures the whole thing is called off.

To save his face from the embarrassment, he weaves a tale of lies, insinuates his good friend Subbu (Venu), drags in the latter's wife (Rakshita), and generally creates a helluva lot of confusion.

In order to make wife believe in his cover-ass story, Vivek marries off the callgirl to his friend and then hides the friend's real wedding. The comedies of errors begin and everything seems to be going wrong for Vivek and his friend until the end when the whole con story is unspooled.

Should the Gender No. 1 take umbrage to this movie about the male perspective, there is free advise - Cosmopolitan and Femina style on 'How to hook your man,' 178 ways to make him pant like a dog', 'A gadzillion tips to tell if he is cheating on you' etc. Krishna Reddy dishes out regular fare, but thankfully avoids bawdy humor, something that other directors would have merrily cashed upon. But well, that's no excuse for not coming up with a remarkable movie, especially after his long hibernation.

Srikanth, as the harried husband, looks almost real-life. Watch out, lady! Venu as the klutzy friend needs to drastically work on his expressions. What happens when he expresses? Ans: He depresses. Rakshita and Sangeeta play along the story - nothing remarkable. Except for one song that they keep airing during the promos, Mani Sharma's music is mostly average.

In a nutshell, the movie warns you that 'Wifey wife go away, Big Johnny wants to play' is one rhyme that will never work.