Young and handsome hero Naga Shaurya is struggling to find a hit since ‘Chalo’. Anish Krishna gained fame with ‘Ala Ela’ and he is yet to score another hit till date. With both of them teaming up to get success, the audience were curious about ‘Krishna Vrinda Vihari’. This breezy romantic entertainer has Shirley Setia as the heroine and the promotional content managed to bring a decent buzz. The film released this Friday after a lot of postponements and let us dive into the review straightaway.
Story:
Krishna (Naga Shaurya) is a youngster who comes from an orthodox Brahmin family. He falls in love with Vrinda (Shirley) who is the complete opposite to him in terms of upbringing and way of thinking. Though Vrinda likes Krishna, she keeps her distance from him knowing that she cannot have kids. Knowing that, Krishna convinces her that he doesn’t need kids but says to his family that he has some problems regarding having kids. They finally get married but Krishna’s mother arrives to their house in the city which creates a lot of problems. How do Krishna and Vrinda manage? What will happen to their relationship? These questions will be answered in the film.
Analysis:
Director Anish Krishna arrived silently with ‘Ala Ela’ and surprised everyone with his simple humour. He managed to impress the audience with entertainment that went missing in his next two films ‘Lover’ and ‘Gali Sampath’. He disappointed a lot with these two movies but reverted back to his old route for ‘Krishna Vrinda Vihari’. He succeeded in bringing a few laughs here and there but he failed to reach the levels of his first film. Though the conflict point is good, there is no strong story and the lack of twists paired up with a regular screenplay made this film end up as an average entertainer. There are no highs in this movie but it is not a disappointing flick either which makes it a decent time pass film.
A lot of writers and directors get excited about a twist or conflict point and think that it is enough to save the film. They fill the rest with a couple of comedy and romantic scenes. At the end, they add drama hoping that it would be enough. This is what Anish Krishna did with this film. Despite a good conflict point, it is not a new and unique one. Hero putting the blame on himself while it is the heroine who has the health issue and families getting involved which created a lot of confusion is a story we have seen many times. A few months back, ‘Ante Sundaraniki’ arrived with the same plot and got critical acclaim despite being a commercial failure. Now, Anish Krishna arrived with the same point and the backdrop of traditional brahmin family immediately reminds you of Nani’s film. While the father creates problem there, it is the mother who gets the hero into trouble.
With the film looking like an imitation of another film, ‘Krishna Vrinda Vihari’ fails to show any original or fresh scenes. The used sequences like bells ringing in the heart of the hero at the first glance of heroine, going behind her, heroine ignoring her but falling for him looking at a fight give the audience a feeling of watching a routine film. Despite the routine nature, it does not bore you and the movie moves at good pace. The comedy generated through Satya’s character is quite good and the songs are equally good. The lead pair looked great on the screen and the romantic scenes definitely attract the youth audience. The twist during the interval and Vennela Kishore’s fun make the first half a passable romantic drama.
But it is tough to go through the family drama in the second half. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law quarrels which we saw in many movies were repeated here too and the sentiment scenes remind us of a lot of TV serials. These scenes test the patience of the audience and the story lacked any high points in the second half too. Barring a few comedy scenes which worked, the second half brings down the film’s graph. The climax portions satisfy the audience which makes ‘Krishna Vrinda Vihari’ a passable romantic entertainer with decent entertainment.
Performances:
Naga Shaurya once again attracted the audience with his good looks and screen presence. There is nothing to fault in his acting skills and he displayed a lot of ease in many scenes. His performance during the emotional scenes were good too and all he needs is a good story and character to make a mark.
New heroine Shirley Setia impresses with her cuteness. She looks different from the regular heroines and the character suited her. Her acting is decent. Radhika fits the bill perfectly as the orthodox hero’s mother. Her character irritates you a bit but he pulled it off very well. Vennela Kishore, Satya, Brahmaji and others entertained every time they appeared on the screen. Rahul Ramakrishna is ok.
Technicians:
People cannot expect an album of ‘Chalo’ level everytime Naga Shaurya and Mahati Swara Sagar team up. The music of ‘Krishna Vrinda Vihari’ are not that addictive but they are not bad either. The picturization of these songs are quite good. The camera work is awesome and makes the film look beautiful. The background score is passable while the production values are very good. Anish Krishna who is disappointing the audience ever since ‘Ala Ela’ has done a decent job this time. He showed glimpses of his talent in the comedy department but his story and screenplay were a bit routine. His presentation is good and the film would have been even better if the drama and love portions were made with more care.
Verdict: A Passable Romantic Entertainer