'Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada' was touted as an emotional romantic entertainer with a dash of the supernatural. Here is the review of the movie:
Story:
Back in 2012, Arjun(Nikhil) fell in love with one Ayesha as a college student and had planned to marry her. But the lover never turned up for marriage, leaving Arjun devastated. Four years later, Arjun has moved on with much difficulty, still subconsciously nurturing the wound wrought by Ayesha.
As his funny friend(played by Vennela Kishore) believes that he is possessed, Arjun grudgingly accompanies him to Kerala's Mahishasura Temple where occultists treat the spiritually abnormal. Arjun there gets attracted to Amala(Heebah Patel), has some fun moments with her, only to find himself jilted once more when Amala leaves him unannounced.
Days later, he once again comes across Amala, but more confusion follows as a Tamil woman(Nanditha Shweta) calls him up, bombarding him with her wish.
Why did Amala leave Arjun? How is the Tamil woman related to him? Will Arjun ever find true love? Answers to these questions are found in the second half.
Analysis:
Director Vi Anand, by and large, stays true to the driving emotion. The film comes in a season of horror-comedies, but horror is only a footnote in driving a larger theme. While the first half keeps one guessing about the identity of one or more character(s), the second half does a comfortable balancing act between the comedians(Sathya, Vennela Kishore and Sudarshan), Arjun's peculiar situation and the drives of Nanditha Shweta's character.
The story lends itself to infusing various shades of romantic-comedy genre. While the male protagonist remains the same, the female counterpart comes with a mental condition of her own. As a director, he draws lessons from films such as'Prema Katha Chitram', but to his credit, he hasn't affected the soul, both of the film and in the film.
The rom-com scenes in Kerala could have avoided some cliches. On the other hand, the element of dreadful mystery should have been brought out in a better way by the screenplay moments before the interval. If the climax works, it's because of the idea. The execution suffers as the lead characters are merely sketchy in their emotions in these portions.
Choosing Nandita Shweta for the role proves a dekko, as she keeps the right expressions throughout. Be it in showing her toughness or getting lovely, she has pulled off her part even while allowing her character to beef up the screenplay.
Nikhil shows sparks of palpable maturity in certain portions where he has to seem melancholic. Watch him scream'Am I mad?' in the mental hospital; one feels he is capable of pulling off psychological roles better, if only the writers were to explore that talent in him. Heebah Patel does her part well. Vennela Kishore is once again brilliant. Sathya is enjoyable, so also Sudarshan.
Abburi Ravi's dialogues are an asset. Sai Sriram's cinematography and Sekhar Chandra's music(especially the song'Neetho Unte Chalu') are very good.
Verdict:
'EPC' keeps the audience guessing. The emotional content is convincing. The performances are impressive. Technically sound. It needn't have been shorter, but the pre-climax and climax portions could have been better fleshed out.
