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Coming from Raj Kandukuri, the producer behind the iconic Pelli Choopulu and starring his son Shiva Kandukuri, this film chronicles the life of titular character Manu (Shiva Kandukuri). It shows his romantic escapades, and how he gets mixed up with rowdy gangs and politics in the Telangana town of Warangal. Once the girl accepts his love, Manu seems to lose interest and breaks up. As long as the chase is around, he takes any risk and does everything he can to win her approval. This strange behavior of Manu is the result of a failed love affair that ran very deep. Jenny (Megha Akash) and Manu love each other and also win the acceptance of their families. Why this love fails, why Manu starts looking at love as a game and what is the role of Warangal’s gang politics in his life forms the rest of the story.
Despite good performances and solid technical support, Manu Charitra becomes a story of confusion that feels completely clueless throughout. The lack of focus in writing and directing is to blame here. The love story between Manu and Jenny has a few good moments. The episode with Priya Vadlamani is vulgar and has been repeated many times in Telugu cinema. Although the story between Manu and Jaanu (Pragati Shrivastav) is also a repeat of Jenny’s, the freshness in Pragati’s casting makes it watchable. Suhas, Madhu Nandan and others try to elevate the narrative but are let down by their poorly written roles. Dolly Danangaya impresses with the role of gang leader. Srikanth Ayengar makes his presence felt. Shiva Kandukuri impresses in some scenes. His style of dialogue and stern body language make it clear that this movie may have been in cans for far too long. Mega Akash delivers consistent performance.
This movie hardly feels like a Gopi Sundar musical. The background score, especially the vocals, is pretty poor. Mostly a love story, the songs should help the narrative, but that’s not the case here. Rahul Srivatsav’s camera is good. Warangal through his lenses looks very beautiful.
This film is a missed opportunity for the novice writer, director Bharat Bidajani. The descriptions are confusing. The narrative meanders aimlessly, constantly destroying any emotional connection that forms. This movie is a huge disappointment.
Cast of Manu Charitra: Shiva Kandukuri, Megha Akash, Priya Vadlamani, Pragathi Srivastav, Srikanth Iyengar, Dolly Dhananjaya, Devi Prasad, Suhas
Manu Charitra director: Bharat Bedajani
Manu Charitra movie rating: 1.5 stars
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