Manamantha
Cast: Mohanlal, Gauthami, Viswant, Raina Rao, Anisha Ambrose and Gollapudi
Director: Chandrasekhar Yeleti
Rating: 4 stars
Chandrasekhar Yeleti, who made his mark in the industry with non-mainstream movies like Aithe and Prayanam, has done it again. His latest film Manamantha stars the superstar Mohanlal, and marks the comeback of yesteryear actress Gauthami, in Telugu cinema.
The film revolves around the lives of four individuals. Sairam (Mohanlal), works as an assistant supervisor in a supermarket. When a managerial position opens up, Sairam is one of the contenders, along with a fellow assistant supervisor, Viswanath (Harshavardhan). Eager to repay the debt that he had accumulated to support his family, Sairam does something despicable to bag the post and gets into trouble.
Gayathri (Gauthami), is a middle-class housewife who is satisfied by running the house with her husband’s meagre income. But when she gets a job opportunity from her old professor, things start to change.
Abhiram (Viswant) is a studious and brilliant engineering student. The erstwhile first ranker, Abhiram, falls for a classmate (Anisha Ambrose) and gets distracted from academics.
Mahitha (Raina), a Class VII student, befriends a slum dweller. When she heads out to help the poor boy, she finds herself in trouble. One incident makes the four characters come together, and what happens next forms the crux of the film.
The National award that the director won for Aithe and the many state awards that he clenched are testament to his skill. Manamantha portrays human emotions convincingly and has a strong and gripping narrative.
Without the usual slow-motion action sequences or raunchy item numbers, this film has carved out an identity for itself. The simple storyline is sure to touch the hearts of viewers at the end.
Although the story begins slowly, the momentum builds up as the story progresses and completely grips the audience during the last 25 minutes.
The director has done a neat job as he explains each one’s story with absolute clarity and the way he links the four characters without any confusion, is simply fantastic.
Mohanlal’s acting is a delight to those who haven’t got a chance to watch him perform before. The superstar, who rendered the Telugu dialogues himself, didn’t do a great job with the diction however, but must be appreciated for his effort.
The seasoned actress Gauthami played her character with ease. Even though it was only his second film, Viswanth acted like he had years of experience behind him. Raina’s performance as an eighth grade student is commendable as she is seen bonding with the cute little boy who plays her friend. All the artistes deliver a natural and realistic performance including Harshavardhan, Urvasi, Nasser and Vennela Kishore.
Technically, the cinematography is creaseless. All the sets in the film seem realistic and the credit must be given to the production designer Ravinder. The music too, is at par with everything else. Telugu cinema is becoming increasingly accepting of such films and for those who are tired of the regular dance drama; this film is just what you have been craving for.
