Late Akkineni Nageswara Rao’s last film Manam is finally here. The film is directed by Vikram Kumar and stars three generations of the Akkineni family. Shriya and Samantha are female stars in the film. This is the second time in India, after Raj Kapoor’s family appearance in a film, when three generation of actors from the same family have acted together. The story begins with the couple Radha (Naga Chaitanya) and Krishna (Samantha) preparing to celebrate their six year old son Bittu alias Nageswara Rao’s birthday. The couple quarrel over some petty issues, decide to separate and leave to meet their lawyers. Alas, their car meets with an accident and they both die. The date — February 14.
Nageswara Rao (Nagarjuna) goes on to become a business tycoon. He treasures the memories of his parents. One day he happens to see Nagarjuna (Naga Chaitanya) in a flight and is convinced that this is his father Radha who is reborn as Nagarjuna. Certain that he would find his mother Krishna also, he starts looking for her and finally finds her in the form of Priya (Samantha). Then Nageswara Rao decides to unite both his father and mother.
Meanwhile an old man Chaitanya (ANR) enters the story. Chaitanya meets with an accident and he is saved by Anjali (Shriya) and Nageswara Rao. At the hospital Chaitanya sees both Nageswara Rao and Anjali and identifies them as his parents who lost their lives in an accident. Chaitanya’s flashback makes the story. The rest of the plot is about how the two couples reunite again, their past lives and the significance of the date February 14. There are a lot of karmic connections at play in the film!
Director Vikram Kumar has done an excellent job with a good story and a skilfully written screenplay. He has created a classic masterpiece. Though the story involves past life regressions and rebirths, the director’s intelligent screenplay takes you through the narrative comfortably and without any confusion. There are a few well-played sentimental scenes and good dialogues, especially in scenes with all the three Akkinenis. Another major plus point for this film is the skilled cinematography by P.S.Vinod. The audience is treated to some excellent visuals. In addition to the riveting dialogues, Anoop Rubens music is also a plus point for the film.
Nagarjuna and Samantha steal the show with their excellent performance. Both of them have lengthy roles. This can be termed as Nagarjuna’s best performance till now. The perfect balance he maintains with the younger generation and the older generation of actors adds to the film’s charm. This is undoubtedly Samantha’s best performance till date. She is lucky to have landed such a good role. She fits perfectly into both the characters that she plays.
Naga Chaitanya has done a decent job. Compared to his earlier films, he has matured a lot as an actor. ANR’s screen presence is not much as he enters just before the interval. Besides, he is a legend his performance needs no description! Shriya enters in the second half and has played her role perfectly. Most of the story involves these five characters. Comedians M.S . Narayana, Ali and Saptagari provide some good laughs.
The scenes between Nagarjuna and Chaitanya and Nagarjuna and Samantha are a treat to watch. In the end Akhil also appears for a few minutes and has made his debut with this film. Despite a few loopholes and drawbacks, like Shriya and Nagarjuna’s flashback episode and too much of alcohol promotion, Manam is a good film to watch and is a perfect tribute to Akkineni Nageswara Rao.
