Young hero Sree Vishnu has been picking different scripts. Likewise, Needi Naadi Oke Katha is also promoted as not a regular movie. Debutante Venu Udugula directed the film that is bankrolled under Aran Media Works. Let’s see whether the film recalls any of our old memories during school or college days…
Rudraraju Sagar (Sree Vishnu) is a poor student leading a joyful life albeit having backlogs to clear his degree. Sagar’s father Rudraraju Devi Prasad (Drvi Prasad) is a professor and respectable person in society living with hope to see his son’s success and settlement in life. It becomes a routine tale as Sagar is scolded by his father every time when he fails in exams. Yet Sagar has fondness and deep veneration towards father.
To gratify father, Sagar decides to change his character and inspire from a genius, ideal student Dharmika (Satna Titus) who is a newcomer to same colony. How Sagar’s life changes in the company and friendship turned romance with Dharmika? Will Sagar ever impress his father? Where did Sagar, Dharmika friendship end?
Venu Udugula penned this film as biography of a typical below average student and the kind of hardships faced to crack the academics in his father’s abhorrence. How Sagar copes up with the society where poor and failed students are mistreated. While story line in crux is admirable, Venu’s ability to engage audience for 2 hours with a repetitive screenplay led to few hiccups in this realistic emotional drama. Nevertheless, Venu’s dialogue writing skills are surely absorbing. NNOK oozed in freshness for unusual casting and natural treatment. Tunes rendered by Suresh Bobbili are soothing. Especially Parvathi Thanayudavo is too good and background score elevated the intensity in almost all the scenes. Cinematography by Raj Thota is vivid. Editor Bonthala Nageswara Reddy should have chopped off few lengthy, mundane scenes in second half. Production values from Aran Media Works are decent yet the film is made in a shoestring budget.
About artists, Sree Vishnu is truly maturing as an artist. One can easily find the ease, intensity and sincerity in his living into Sagar character with that overused accent. His body language and diction are faultless. Overall, Sree Vishnu reminds a character one finds in every next door which is an achievement for any actor. Satna Titus is not a regular glamour heroine but she played her part neatly. Devi Prasad who played Sree Vishnu’s father is one of the biggest assets. His pain and responsibility as a middle class father strikes the chord. One can correlate him with many of the fathers in society. The one who played Vishnu’s mother was also good. Other artists were acceptable.
Plot
Sree Vishnu
Dialogues
Music
Tedious Screenplay
Second Half
Too Much Preachy
Commercial Void
Life of a successful and failure student are two opposite poles. There is a strong myth that achievers compromise small things to achieve big scores in life, failures enjoy the same life without bothering much about future. Failures are not only scolded by parents, teachers frequently but are also stamped as good for nothing fellows. Balancing the life becomes puzzle for them as stress gradually overtakes. Director Venu tried to convey the same one point that there are other alternative options in current society other than bagging a job in Engineering or Medical fields. That is how we designed our education setup on which Venu has so much of anger to explode.
First half begins with simple depiction of Sree Vishnu’s character. Every time, he forgets to bring hall ticket for exam centre and worse are the days when his results are out. E-Seva center episode where students queue to know their result is a reflection of many in our neighborhood. A girl crying for losing 1 mark scoring 99 out of 100 showed the classic mentality of so-called brilliant students. Episode wherein Vishnu’s father bursts when Vishnu’s answer sheet gets printed in newspaper is one of the funniest one to connect with youth. Till the time Satna Titus enters into story, narrative was cool and entertaining. Movie becomes slow once Satna joins the plot Posani Krishna Murali episodes are so meaningful though overstretched. Slowly and steadily NNOK leads to a systematic interval with Sree Vishnu and Satna caught hugging. Well, emotions need to peak up in 2nd half and here it is.
Into later half, story is standstill as Vishnu’s efforts to impress his father turn futile. Journey of Vishnu, Satna and search for other career options leading to protagonist’s frustration and dialogues here are written with lot of depth and conviction. Nara Rohit in for a special appearance to bring a change in Sree Vishnu’s perspective on his conflict with father is cleanly paving for an expected climax.
In-total, Needi Naadi Oke Katha is a film to connect with majority of youth and parents. There’s a potential conflict of mismatch in interests of parents and students in every family which can be a best to debate subject which director Venu picked. Instead of a rather very serious narrative, moderating the density of emotions and preaches could have made this crisp film much more enjoyable. Yet, the realistic approach with thought provoking narrative can extensively touch those patrons who connect well with central point. Go and watch NNOK knowing a fact that this is not a regular commercial masala. It’s the pain and stigma of a failure. CJ goes with 3 stars for touching an exceptional and burning point.