Jayammu Nischayammu Raa movie review: A sincere attempt and a good movie
Cast: Srinivas Reddy, Poorna, Praveen, Krishna Bhagwan, Ravi Varma and others
Director: Shiva Raj Kanumuri
Another comedian, Srinivas Reddy, has now taken up a lead role with Jayammu Nischayammu Raa. Previously, he did have a good role in Geethanjali, but the focus in the women-centric film was all on Anjali. So for Reddy, his latest — directed by first-timer Shiva Raj Kanumuri — is crucial. Reddy plays the role of Sarva Mangalam, an innocent person who works as a clerk in Kakinada city. Mangalam is originally from Karimnagar. He soon meets Rani (Poorna) who works at a Mee Seva centre next to his office. It’s love at first sight but Sarva is too shy to ask her out. And then emerges the character in full. At work too, his shy nature is made fun of and his boss JC (Ravi Varma) makes full use of Sarva’s gentle demeanour and his employee’s home to hang out with women. Sarva endures all of this because all what he does depends on astrologer’s (Jeeva) advice.
Later, an incident forces a change in the way Sarva sees things and he starts believing in himself rather than superstition. How his life changes for the better forms the plot of the story. Director Shiva Raj Kanumuri has picked a simple subject to start off his career with. Early on, he says he was inspired by Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastry’s story Alpajeevi but his subject is not a copy. His message is easy to understand — all he wants to tell the viewer is how harmful superstitions can be. There are a few “lifts” though. The romantic track between Srinivas Reddy and Poorna comes from the old Hindi flick, Chhoti Si Baat. Besides that tiny spot, one will notice that the narration takes too long and it’s a while before Kanumuri makes his point. The first half drags but the film picks momentum once it enters the second half. Except for a few quirks, the director has done a neat job.
Kanumuri also relies a lot on humour and has created some characters specifically for that purpose. Which brings us to the fantastic acting by Srinivas Reddy. He carries the movie on his shoulders. Except for his Telangana accent, everything else is perfect. Poorna meanwhile, is perfect as Rani and Praveen, Posani and Krishna Bhagwan bring up the rest of the squad with their humour. Ravi Varma once again proves he’s terrific as the bad guy. The cinematography good too with Kakinada shown in full cinematic brilliance. Overall then, despite a dragging first half (it can use a 20-minute trim) Jayammu Nischyammu Raa is a good romantic comedy when compared to what we are receiving as moviegoers these days. It’s definitely recommended.
