What’s it about?
Santosh (Santosh Shoban), a civil engineer in a construction company in Hyderabad, is struggling with a syndrome. He is insecure about his ‘mini’ size. After all sorts of solutions to increase the size fails, he resolves not to get married in life. But, he reluctantly agrees to attend the pelli choopulu scene with Amrutha, and in an avoidable situation, he ties the knots to her.
With the help of his friend Darshan (Sudharshan), he finds a Sanyasini who promises to provide him an herbal medicine that would erase his problem for good in 10 days. With that hope, Santosh continues to postpone the first night, which leads to a comical circus.
Analysis
Does size really matter? Maybe or may not be! It is a fact that most men are fixated on size. It is also a fact that most teenagers measure the inches and share the information with their friends. It becomes a problem when men think they are not well-endowed. It turns into a huge psychological issue when they believe theirs is mini or micro. The protagonist of ‘Ek Mini Katha’ has this syndrome.
Google the list of movies that deal with this syndrome, we hardly find any data. No doubt that the makers have attempted their hands at a subject that people feel ashamed to talk about. But does the hitherto unexplored subject make a good fare to watch? May not be.
‘Ek Mini Katha’ is essentially a comedy about a sweet guy afflicted with a problem.
‘Ek Mini Katha’ begins well and doesn’t take much time to establish the main point. The humor is low-brow at best but still has provided hilarious moments in the initial portions. However, it runs out of steam after it reaches the interval.
I liked how the writer and director have mixed the main point to the romantic thread. But where they have failed is in the third act. What were they thinking in bringing Saptagiri’s role into the story? That entire stretch of postponing of first-night drags on. It also lacks an emotional element.
In the role of a sweet and somewhat nebbish guy, Santosh Shoban is perfectly cast. He has shown a lot of confidence. His friend, played by Sudarshan, provides some of the good laughs. Brahmaji as his father also leaves an impression. Kavya Thapar is okay. Shraddha Das makes a cameo appearance as a god woman.
Gokul Bharati’s cinematography and Praveen Lakkaraju’s musical performances are adequate. Dialogue writing is good.
Bottom-line: ‘Ek Mini Katha’ is a bit hilarious, a bit raunchy, but a portion of it is formulaic. Despite having a promising beginning, novel, and daring storyline, it falters in the end.
OTT Movie: Ek Mini Katha
Cast: Santosh Shoban, Kavya Thapar, Shraddha Das, and others
Produced by: UV Concepts
Written by: Merlapaka Gandhi
Directed by: Karthik Rapolu
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
Release Date: May 27, 2021
