Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu review: Women, Sharwanand and audiences deserve something better

Story:

Chiranjeevi is the only pampered male child in a huge family, where his parents, uncles and aunts stay together. Chiru's life mostly revolves around his mother and the other women in the household. He doesn't take even a single decision without their nod and this applies to the girl he would go on to marry too. After several failed attempts to find a match for Chiru, the latter finally meets the woman of his dreams, Aadhya. Their friendship soon blossoms into a romance but Aadhya steps back when Chiru broaches the idea of marriage. To what length would Chiru go to convince Aadhya?

Review:

Telugu cinema has traditionally produced family dramas like a factory over the years. The ingredients in this staple factory product have mostly been similar - one giant (read joint) family in a small town/city, a guy who is hailed as a modern-day reincarnation of Lord Ram, supposedly has the best-possible traits that a woman would expect of him and the only conflict in his life is about marrying the girl of his choice. This may be a formula that enjoyed a good success rate over the years but what filmmakers must also realise is that the tropes need timely tweaks to strike a chord. Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu is old wine in an older bottle.

When a film is titled Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu (all hail women!), the filmmaker must feel responsible to some extent, at least make a basic effort to understand what constitutes the world of a woman (beyond the men). Women are only of two hues in this film. Either they're too occupied with their domestic chores, making coffee, cutting vegetables, watching TV and or they're autocratic, stern, male-hating bosses with no heart at all. In the end, the career-driven woman realises the importance of 'family values' in her life and is 'tamed' by the man.

The five women that Chiranjeevi is surrounded by, in Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu, have little or no identity of their own(who's painfully desperate for marriage) and the best comic portion in the film too revolves around a tiffin box that they want it to be returned. Among them, a woman's main problem is a fact that she couldn't conceive. She even rolls out gems like 'a woman's life is incomplete without having a baby.' Even if you divert your focus towards the romance between Chiranjeevi and Aadhya, nothing is rewarding at all. Tirumala Kishore's verbose dialogues sound like proverbs when the two communicate with one another.

If you thought that the title indicates the respect the male lead has towards women, be prepared to be disappointed. It's more of a sarcastic taunt. In a climactic sequence, Chiru says, 'A woman is beyond the understanding of a man...All we can say is Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu.' Nearly every female character in the film is a victim because of a man and she always waits for him to solve her problems. Many situations in the film suggest that a girl needs to be protected. She either falls on his feet or gives him a tight whack. There's no middle ground. In a sequence, the writer even mocks a woman for her short hair.

Most of Tirumala Kishore's films have a similar problem - there's no distinction in the lingo of the characters. Every character speaks in the same tone, be it sarcasm, humour or the gyaan they offer to others. More than anything else, this is a tiresome watch. It pans out exactly the way you would expect it to and the woes for the viewer are compounded due to the verbose, exhausting storytelling. Whenever the director sticks to humour, he is quite good but the drama never soars. Everyone is tired to reel out the same dialogues they've been uttering film after film.

It's extremely baffling that Sharwanand said yes to this trainwreck of a script. He looks pale, tired and demotivated in his performance and even in scenes where good screen presence could've done the trick, he doesn't try hard at all. A film like this is mere pocket money for Rashmika Mandanna, her mettle is never tested. All she has to do is to wear good clothes, smile, cry occasionally and groove to a song or two. Roping in talents like Khushbu, Radhika and Urvashi together in a film is no joke and it's very disappointing to see what they get.

While Khushbu's role is a mellowed version of Nadhiya's roles in films like Attarintiki Daaredi, A..Aa, Radhika is wasted in a poorly written part. If at all someone rises above the mediocrity of the film, it is Urvashi, who is committed to making the blandest of dialogues sound funnier with her terrific timing. Rajasree Nair, Satya Krishnan, Jhansi and Kalyani Natarajan barely get to do anything significant. Vennela Kishore and Sathya's comic portions work to a certain extent while Pradeep Rawat's track feels incomplete. Devi Sri Prasad's music is strictly okay.

Verdict:

No first half or second half talk here, this is a family drama where most characters are perennially in 'blah blah blah..' mode. Everyone is itching for an opportunity to dish out proverbs. Neither Sharwanand nor Rashmika, the superb ensemble cast can do anything to salvage this outdated film.