Vunnadi Okate Zindagi movie review: Friendship triumphs again in love triangle
Cast: Ram Pothineni, Sri Vishnu, Anupama Parameshwaran, Lavanya Tripathi, Priyadarshi and others
Director: Kishore Tirumala
Ram Pothineni and director Kishore Tirumala come together again after their blockbuster hit Nenu Sailaja to narrate a story of love and friendship. Abhi (Ram Pothineni) and Vasu (Sri Vishnu) are close friends from childhood. Abhi accidentally meets Maha (Anupama), who is training to be a doctor at KGH, Vizag. She wants to be a singer and Abhi encourages her and the two fall in love with each other.
Abhi comes to know that his close friend Vasu has also fallen in love with Maha. Both friends decide to propose to Maha, who decides to marry Vasu. This causes a rift between the friends, and Abhi leaves for Milan. When he returns, he is in for a surprise. With Vunnadi Okate Zindagi (VOZ), Kishore Tirumala follows in the path of the romantic feel-good Nenu Sailaja. VOZ does not focus on the story, it is more of a scene by scene narration, something that well in Nenu Sailaja.
The story of two friends falling for the same girl and one of them sacrificing is old, and simple. VOZ catches up in the second half. Kishore Tirumala’s style of narration allows him to pay attention to the emotional scenes, but some of these can drag a bit. The romantic track between Ram and Anupama is interesting, and even cute. The same cannot be said of the scenes featuring Ram and Lavanya. Of special mention are some scenes in the first half, at the interval and the climax.
Ram Pothineni carries off both his roles — one bulky and bearded and the other lean and clean-shaven — well. Sri Vishnu gets a meaty role and he lives the character of Vasu. This could well be a turning point for him. The highlight of the film is Anupama, who steals the show with her performance. She proves once again, as Maha, that she is a performer. One would want to see more scenes featuring her. Lavanya’s role is limited, but even this is not designed well. Priyadarshi provides a few laughs and Kireeti gets noticed as a friend.
Sameer Reddy’s cinematography, showcasing the beautiful locales of Araku, Visakhapatnam, and Ooty, is a big asset. Save for a couple songs, Devi Sri Prasad’s music is not really up there. It comes as a bit of a let down from Nenu Sailaja.
