What’s it about?
Much against his wishes, Veeru (Sri Simha), who is in love with a doctor (Chitra Shukla), agrees to tie the knots with his father chosen girl, Madhu (Misha). Hours before the wedding night, Veeru jumps out of the wall of the wedding hall, only to find that his bride is also running away. Will they stay back and get married, or run away?
Analysis
Romantic entertainers mostly rely on engaging situations, or entertainment, or the chemistry of the lead pair. Getting it right is all-important. In fact, the greatest romantic dramas are those who elicit the mood, and those who make us ache for the unison of the lovers. Precisely for this reason Richard Linklater’s ‘Before Sunrise, which is about a couple spending one evening together, is considered one of the all-time greatest romantic dramas.
‘Thellavarithe Guruvaram’ (The Next Day is Thursday) is also a film that happens one night. But it gets everything wrong for a rom-com.
A bride and a groom are going to tie the knots in a couple of hours trying to run away from the venue to escape getting married to each other. It is an interesting idea. No wonder that the beginning sequences are engaging.
When the groom is running away, he finds that the bride is also escaping to avoid getting married to him. And these two unlikely couples get to know each other well over the night. Had the situations and the screenplay was engaging, it would have been a decent rom-com.
But the backstories of the groom (played by Simha) and the bride (Misha) are silly and irritating. Both the female characters are presented as girls with a confusing mind, who quickly change their decisions. The Chitra’s track is hard to believe. How come a doctor behaves in such an idiotic fashion? Even Misha’s story of a girl developing fear about marriage due to years of watching TV serials is laughable.
Added to this, we also get to see a person forcing the heroine to marry him because he assumes she killed his goat in an accident. This episode is enough to say how idiotic scenes are incorporated in the film to forcibly make the heroine develop feelings for the hero.
The only saving grace in the film is Satya’s hilarious comedy track. Sri Simha, who made an impressive debut in ‘Mathu Vadalara’, passes the muster as a hero. Both the female actors fail to leave an impression. Sharanya Pradeep as Misha’s sister is good.
Kaala Bhairava’s music is good. Cinematography is okay.
Bottom-line: ‘Thellavarithe Guruvaram’ is a silly rom-com. Towards the climax, the hero says they would reach the destination in 20 minutes, hinting at the ending of the movie as well. After that dialogue, we are made to watch 45 minutes of the dull proceedings. You imagine the rest.
By: Jalapathy Gudelli
Rating: 2/5
Film: Thellavarithe Guruvaram
Cast: Sri Simha Koduri, Chitra Shukla, Misha Narang, Sathya, and others
Music: Kaala Bhairava
Director of Photography: Suresh Ragutu
Editor: Satya G
Producer: Rajani Korrapati and Ravindra Benarjee
Written and directed by: Manikanth Gelli
Release Date: March 27, 2021
