Padi Padi Leche Manasu – Movie Review

What’s it about!

Story is set in Kolkata. Surya (Sharwanand) follows medico Vaishali (Sai Pallavi) wherever she goes. He uses all tricks to get her attention. When she does, he comes up with a story that a guy’s madly in love with her and he is threatening him to beat up for following his love Vaishali. Only later she realises that he has cooked up this story and finally agrees to his love proposal. An incident in Nepal changes their love story and she tells him that she has retrograde amnesia and doesn’t remember him. He begins the wooing her again.  
 
Analysis

Sharwanand and Sai Pallavi star together for the first time. ‘Padi Padi Leche Manasu’, their first film together, largely goes with regular tropes of a romantic drama.
 
The concept of the girl “forgetting” her lover after an incident was explored in many recent movies that include Sai Dharam Tej and Anupama starrer ‘Tej I Love You’, and ‘Anaganaga O Prema Katha’. However, director Hanu Raghavapudi seems to be in confusion whether to focus on retrograde amnesia or wooing game. He was in two minds about this plot is quite evident the way the film is structured: two halves of the movie are completely different from one another.

The initial portions focus on wooing game, and their petty quarrels. Then it moves to amnesia angle: will a man in love go to any lengths to win over the girl, even reminding his “love” towards her again and again? But again this is also riddled with many unnecessary subplots – hero’s broken family, heroine’s confusion.
 
The fresh pairing, the beautiful locations, two talented lead actors and hit numbers set the mood well in the beginning. When we are warming up to this, then comes a “disaster” and soon the plot goes disorder. The entire second half is messy.

What was Sharwanand expecting when he was running after Sai Pallavi – just a casual relationship? Why he suddenly turns commitment phobic? The back story is not at all convincing.

Both Sharwanand and Sai Pallavi have achieved great on-screen chemistry that has worked wonders in some portions, even when the portions are not that effective. Sharwanand is good in the role of a romantic youngster. Sai Pallavi has already proved that she can bring life to even dull scenes with her effervescent charm and great acting skills. Her performance is superb.
 
Murali Sharma, Sunil, Vennela Kishore are Priyadarshi have got weak charcters. They have played their parts routinely.
 
Music by Vishal Chandrasekhar is a winner. His title song leaves a mark. Jaya Krishna Gummadi’s cinematography is an asset. The locales of Kolkota and Nepal have added to the visual palette.

Like always, director Hanu Raghavapudi gives up in post-interval scenes (does he suffer from second-half syndrome as writer?).
 
Bottom-line: ‘Padi Padi Leche Manasu’ is boring. After a great start, the movie turns meh.