What’s it about?
A widowed father, Ramana (Rao Ramesh), and his son, Krishna (Sundeep Kishan), share the same dream: to display a family photograph consisting of their women on their wall. As Ramana seeks marital alliances for his son, he realizes he must remarry first.
Ramana encounters Yashoda (Anshu), who has remained unmarried despite surpassing the conventional ‘marriageable age’ long ago. He proposes to her, but she rejects his advances. Prior to her departure for the USA, Yashoda consents to meet Ramana and explains the rationale behind her decision to remain unmarried. Subsequently, Ramana discloses a secret to her, and their love flourishes.
As they prepare for wedding, Krishna falls in love with Meera (Ritu Varma), and they begin a romantic relationship. To the astonishment of Ramana and Krishna, it is revealed that both Yashoda and Meera inhabit the same house. Are Yashoda and Meera related? What challenges would Ramana and Krishna encounter in obtaining a ‘family portrait’?
Analysis
Prior to the release of “Mazaka,” reports stated it was a copy of the Malayalam film “Bro Daddy”; however, it is not related to that movie in any manner. “Bro Daddy” explores the theme of a father and son confronting unanticipated pregnancies, while “Mazaka” depicts a father and son who both fall in love with separate women and the simultaneous necessity of marriage.
“Mazaka” encompasses not only the relationship between a father and son but also women with whom they become romantically involved. The women possess their own stories and problems.
Director Trinadha Rao Nakkina and writer Prasanna Kumar have written a screenplay with several twists and peppered with comedy; while the first half is lighthearted, the second half meanders and drags the film unnecessarily. Although the concluding moments are emotional and give depth to the story, the general flow becomes clunky.
The pre-interval and interval episodes set up the drama neatly, but some of the comedic sections like Ajay’s dialogues in the police station and Hyper Aadhi’s track in a marriage episode in the second half are cringe-worthy.
The whole episode of Rao Ramesh – Anshu and Sundeep Kishan – Ritu Varma ‘naval’ episode is so boring.
In the final segment, the scene of Rao Ramesh expressing his emotional feeling when he hears the sound of anklets works quite well. The scene of Sundeep Kishan accepting Anshu as ‘amma’ is nice as well.
Sundeep Kishan looks refreshingly good in the role of a lover boy after playing action and intense roles in the recent past. He does it effortlessly well, Rao Ramesh is known for portraying father roles convincingly; nevertheless, in this film, he engages in romantic scenes and performs skits, eliciting ambivalent emotions. Although he demonstrates his natural style in comedic and emotional scenes, the romantic segments lack effectiveness.
Ritu Varma plays her part neatly. Anshu’s comeback makes a major impression. As a comic antagonist, Murali Sharma delivers a strong performance.
Leon James has given regular tunes. Prasanna Kumar’s writing skills are on display in a few episodes. However, he struggles to come up with strong comedy.
Bottomline: “Mazaka” is presented as a comedy entertainer with an emotional aspect, but only a few sequences elicit laughter and the rest become gawky. The film lacks real ‘Maza’.
Rating: 2.5/5
Movie: Mazaka
Cast: Sundeep Kishan, Ritu Varma, Rao Ramesh, Anshu, Hyper Adhi, Murali Sharma, and others
Music: Leon James
DOP: Nizar Shafi
Editor: Chota K Prasad
Art director: Brahma Kadali
Producer: Razesh Danda
Story, Screenplay & Dialogues: Prasanna Kumar Bezawada
Directed by: Trinadha Rao Nakkina
Release Date: Feb 26, 2025
