PITTA KATHALU (2021)
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| Critic - No. 195 |
Director: Tharun Bhascker, Nadhini Reddy, Nag Ashwin, Sankalp Reddy
Produced by: RSVP Movies, Flying Unicorn Entertainment
Casts: Lakshmi Manchu, Saanve Megghana, Abhay Bethiganti, Amala Paul, Ashwin Kakumanu, Jagapathi Babu, Shruti Haasan, Sanjith Hegde, Satyadev Kancharana, Eesha Rebba, Srinivas Avasarala
Language: Telugu
Genre: Drama, Romance
Music: Vivek Sagar
SYNOPSIS:
From secrets and lies to jealousy and control, four stories in this anthology film explore darker, deceptive sides of love.
REVIEW:
Hindi cinema had Lust Stories and Ghost Stories, Tamil cinema had Paava Kadhaigal and Putham Pudhu Kaalai, and finally, Telugu cinema ventures out to the anthology space where various directors tell short stories based on a similar thematic note with Pitta Kathalu. It is interesting to see some strong commercial directors taking an attempt in creating short stories which set out to deal with complex emotions and characters.
Let’s take a dive into each story looking into the thematic and cinematic succession of each.
Ramula (dir. Tharun Bhascker)
Set in the rural sides of Andhra, Tharun Bhascker offers us an engaging, black comedy, romantic tale of Ramula (Saanve Meghana) and Ram Chander (Abhay Bethiganti). When Ram decides to move on from Ramula due to the latter forbidding any sense of intimacy, Ramula accepts help from a politician (Lakshmi Manchu) whose agenda could prove dangerous.
While the story is authentically rural, the treatment is given with stylish swag, with contrary European folksy music played throughout. Stamped with black humour, the film engages us mostly with its constant wit. Both the lead pair are superb while the twisted climax comes as a sweet surprise, hinging on the note that betrayal can come from unexpected forms. I liked the entire eccentric nature of it that even painted tragedy into an admirable comedy. I just wished that the anthology had kept this momentum throughout the other films.
Meera (dir. Nadhini Reddy)
Meera is a more explicit tale in highlighting ‘feminism’ through a young writer who is tortured by a controlling husband. After reading an excerpt of his novelist wife, Meera (Amala Paul), Vishwa grows increasingly suspicious of her possible infidelity. From the word go, the film is uncomfortably one-dimensional by showing men as psychotic creeps. That’s totally fine if you have a steady character and conflict, without it ‘Meera’ is just a thin sheet of a sexist film. With contrived writing, we don’t sympathize with Meera’s character at all. Why does every man in the party shout out flirtatious comments to Meera’s beauty with her just blushing away for each one of them? I don’t get the arc of Meera and Vishwa. Both the leads are just okay in their flat characters.
The only acceptable aspect of this was Richard Prasad’s cinematographer and Mickey J Meyer’s music that add on to the sinister mood that the director intends to deliver. And by the time, the film staggers towards the final reveal, we are just switched off.
xLife (dir. Nag Ashwin)
Nag Ashwin (‘Mahanati’ fame) offers us a sleek-looking, sci-fi social commentary that dwells deeper than just interpersonal relationships. The film is about Vikram Ramaswamy (Sanjith Hegde) the founder of a virtual reality platform that syncs to the cortex and helps you get lost in a perfect world, far beyond reality. He takes a liking to the timid Divya (Shruti Haasan), his employee, who feels grateful to be his damsel in distress. Nag Ashwin's xLife is an interesting exploration of the power of technology over human lives starved of love. Shruthi Hassan and Sanjith are perfect for the roles and their chemistry (scrawny nerd genius and robotically beautiful looking Divya) is awkwardly pleasing. The techno score compliments the setting and mood of the film as well.
It’s a delicate slover story with nice visuals and production design. However, from the start, we are swung back and forth through the dry conflict between reality and virtual reality until the romance kicks in. However, despite the ambitious setting and concept, the soul of the love Nag Ashwin is trying to sell us stays bland. The climax twist is also predictable. Maybe, with a higher budget and time, Nag Ashwin could have expanded this concept into a more soul-stirring one, given the strong sense of storytelling displayed in his past works.
Pinky (dir. Sankalp Reddy)
Sankalp’s final story is about Pinky (Eesha Rebba) who is in an unhappy marriage, with her husband (Srinivas Avasarala) trying his best to understand her and provide a good life to her. However, Pinky’s heart lies elsewhere and she continues to see her ex-boyfriend (Satyadev), even though he’s married to another woman (Ashima). Yes, the film is messy as it sounds as well.
From the starting scene, I can never relate to anyone of the stalk characters and there is no sense of direction in the narrative. We are just thrown scene by scene without any emotional complexity of the conflict. The staging and performances are lifeless as the story. We are sucked into a confusing world with an even awkward ending. It also ends abruptly with the phrase ‘Love is Eternal’ - like the story, the tagline doesn't make sense as well. Thanks to Sankalp’s last story, Pitta Kathalu’s whole cinematic experience ends off on an inspid note.
My Ranking of the 4 films based on the overall cinematic experience - Ramula, xLife. Meera, Pinky.
VERDICT:
Despite having some strong talents on board, ‘Pitta Kathalu’ is an uneven, lifeless anthology that fizzles out quickly before we even start investing in it.
CELLULOID METER- 2.5/5:
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