What’s it about?
Mahi (Sumanth Prabhas) and his two best friends live in the Telangana village of Bandla Narsampalli. They are all unemployed and spend their time drinking beers and having fun. They decide to open a tent house in their village to earn money after running into a couple of problems in their village as a result of their irresponsible behavior.
Mahi’s maradalu Mounika immediately gives her gold bangles for their investment, while the father of one of their friends provides Rs one lakh by mortgaging their land, and the local sarpanch contributes some money. Their first venture quickly becomes a success. Their joy, however, is short-lived, as a short circuit destroys their tenthouse.
Mahi and his other friend devise a plan to earn money by creating YouTube videos in order to pay off the loan and become successful. Will this attempt make them famous?
Analysis
In terms of its plot, its setting, and its overall approach, “Mem Famous” is a familiar fare. Similar films that come to mind while watching this one are “Cinema Bandi” and even “Jathi Ratnalu” to a lesser extent. Debutant director and actor Sumanth Prabhas has penned a script that is simple in every term.
The plot of “Mem Famous” is built on a series of random scenes that together depict the struggles of three friends in a rural setting. So, writer-director Sumanth Prabhas throws couple of funny moments here and there, comes up with scenes that show bond between three friends, etc. The film’s first half consists entirely of boilerplate material. The second half of the film changes its tone and provides better “cinematic moments”. The hero and his buddy’s efforts to increase their YouTube views and develop a strategy for producing content that sells have provided better experience.
The highlight moments in this episode are: when a young boy buys torn jeans his mother bashing him and Anji Mama narrating his love story.
But everything happens in this film without logic and many situations don’t reflect current living standards of the Telangana rural side. When Gangavva, an uneducated rural Telangana woman, became a huge celebrity via YouTube videos, it is difficult to believe that a youngster is unaware of YouTube videos and their mechanisms. The climax is also rather abrupt.
Sumanth Prabhas is okay in his maiden role. The majority of the movie’s actors are first-timers. The young actress who played Maradalu stands out among them. The only other memorable actors are a man named Anji Mama and a young boy. Muralidhar Goud (DJ Tillu, Balagam) is cast in a mundane role.
Overall production design and values illustrate the film’s low budget. The film’s technical output is also substandard; the cinematography and musical score reflect this. While low-budgeted films like ‘Balagam’ boasted stunning visuals and memorable music, this one falls short.
Use of the well-known folk song “Galli Chinnadi” by Goreti Venkanna at this time is a mistake. The song rocked the Telugu states twenty years ago. The whole setup of this song and casting Goreti in this film proves that the makers have run out of ideas to make this story forward.
Bottom line: “Mem Famous” is a straightforward tale about young people in a rural area who want to make a name for themselves in order to benefit financially and gain respect socially. The message in the end provides is quite positive, and offers a few laughs but the film is standard fare in this genre, showing no novelty. The production values and technical aspects are very low, giving the whole thing a very amateurish feel. However, it might connect with the youngsters.
Rating: 2.5/5
By Jalapathy Gudelli
Film: Mem Famous
Cast: Sumanth Prabhas, Mani Aegurla, Mourya Chowdary, Saarya, Siri Raasi, Kiran Macha, Anji Mama, Narendra Ravi, Muralidhar Goud, Shiva Nandan and others
Cinematography: Shyam Dupati
Editor: Srujana Adusumilli
Music: Kalyan Nayak
Art: Aravind Muli
Producers: Anurag Reddy, Sharath Chandra, Chandru Manoharan
Written and Directed by: Sumanth Prabhas
Release Date: May 26, 2023
