Pelli choopulu is by far the purest film in recent times which brings fresh and cool air to the commercially heated up Telugu film industry.

Story :

Prashanth (Vijay) is a carefree engineer (well not technically since he has one subject left 😛 ) who’s a dreamer but too lazy to work to fulfill them. He’s absolutely ready to become a son-in-law of a rich man just for easy money. On the other hand, Chitra (Ritu) is an MBA graduate who’s an achiever and has high hopes for her future in Australia. She doesn’t want to get married just for the sake of her parents’ pressure. Poles apart in their perspective of life, they both happened to meet in “Pellichoopulu”. They find a small connect when Chitra suggests the food truck idea she had earlier and Prashanth about his passion for cooking. So, what happens when these two different minded people take a journey of life? Did they succeed in finding a middle-ground and be able to take off their business? Did they achieve their dreams?

Performances:

Pelli Choopulu ultimately rests on its lead pair Vijay and Ritu. Vijay, who debuted as “Doodh Kashi guy” in Yevade Subramanyam comes up with a very natural performance as a lazy and confused youngster. He’s so relatable. Ritu Varma, who’s also been a part of Yevade and a short-film “Anukokunda” gives a very subtle and matured performance. How often do you see a strong, independent and a practical female character in Telugu Cinema? Ritu brings so much freshness to the film as well as the character. Apart from the lead pair,  Kaushik who plays the friend of Vijay steals the show with his impeccable comic timing, that Telangana dialect and that hilarious dialogue, “Naa saavu nen sastha neekenduku?”. Anish Kuruvilla makes his comeback after Anand in a small role.

Direction:

After two very promising short-films “Anukokunda” and “Sainma”, Tharun Bhascker makes his directorial debut with what can be called the most pure telugu movie of the year. Few minutes into the narrative, we might know what’s gonna happen eventually. But what keeps us hooked is the refreshing screenplay throughout the film. There’s no forced comedy, fights and dance numbers, still Tharun made sure that the film is entertaining right from the beginning. Every character adds something to the narrative rather than just being present. Be it the excellent usage of classical themed songs in the background, some shots and the characters, there’s definitely Mani Sir’s kind of treatment which Tharun beautifully managed to write and execute. He’ll definitely go a long way in this industry.

Technical Aspects:

A good movie is never possible without the entire technical and creative team’s collective efforts. Pelli Choopulu is no exception for that. Be it the excellent music and background score by Vivek Sagar, camera work by Nagesh Banell and dialogues by Tharun himself, the team achieved something really great within the given limited budget which even most of the big commercial movies always fail to do. Producers Raj Kandukuri and Yash Rangineni should be appreciated for their trust in the script and Tharun. By the time I’m writing this, the movie already made it’s mark here and in US beating out even some big starry movies with their collections and produced an excellent return of investment for the producers. I hope they continue to make quality films like these rather than going for big stars and burn their hands.

On a final note, if someone asks you what Pelli Choopulu feels like, you can say :

If Sekhar Kammula and Mani Ratnam ever collaborate in a film together, then that’ll look like Pelli Choopulu. 

I’m going with four stars.