Vishnu Priya movie review: Shreyas Manju and Priya Prakash Varrier’s 90s romance is an excruciating exercise in patience

2/5

Vishnu Priya movie story: Balu (Nihal Raj Gowda), Vishnu (Shreyas K Manju) and Priya (Priya Prakash Varrier), are college mates, who are also stuck in a love triangle. Balu holds a torch for Priya, but her heart’s set on Vishnu, which she lets him know. Meant to be Balu’s messenger to tell Priya of his feelings for her, Vishnu does not bat an eyelid before deciding to kickstart a relationship with her. Balu, of course, does not take kindly to this betrayal, and if that isn’t bad enough for the love-struck couple, there’s also objection galore from her family. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

Vishnu Priya movie review: A love story set in the 90s, when relationships blossomed over stolen glances, letters hidden in books – that is supposed to be the highlight of director VK Prakash’s film with Shreyas and Priya in the lead. The problem with a period setting is that if it does not really serve a purpose for the narrative, it is actually a major dampner.

Who is your target audience? The 20-somethings of today, who do not care for a world before the internet? Or those pushing 50 who were 20 back when the story was set and can relate to it, but may feel no more than a momentary rush of nostalgia? If you cannot use a period setting effectively, as was done in films like Rifle Club (Malayalam) and the more recent Agnyathavasi, then just don’t do it.

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The team of Vishnu Priya did it, though, and the end result is excruciating to say the least. The film’s come to Amazon Prime Video, which made me miss the playback speed adjustment of Netflix sorely. I lost count of the number of times I hit 10-second skip and yet, the film felt like it was never ending.

The bigger question that lingers after watching the film, though, is the intention behind the ending of the film. Tragic stories can be tear-jerkers and money-spinners at the same time, but Vishnu Priya is not the kind of story where audiences are likely to resonate with either of the protagonists. For what it’s worth, both Shreyas and Priya are earnest in their roles, with the former, especially, toning down his body language, mannerisms, dialogue delivery, etc., several notches. Unfortunately, it is wasted in a film that is lazily written.

Vishnu Priya movie verdict: A tragic love story that doesn’t strike a chord – that’s some special talent to be able to pull that off.