Village lo Vinayakudu is refreshing

If Vinayakudu was the love story between a fat guy and a hot babe, its sequel Village lo Vinayakudu (VLV) retains the basic underlying thread of the fat guy but here he has to tackle the father of the girl he loves.

In a sense, the Telugu sequel is more a family-oriented film. However, the two films are not really connected (like the Munnabhai series) in terms of the storyline, barring of course the lead protagonist (Karthik) and the actor who portrays it (Krishnudu).

Director Saikiran comes up with a clean film sans the usual masala which makes for a good watch.

The film establishes from the beginning that Karthik (Krishnudu) and Kavya (Saranya Mohan) are in love; from the time she was doing her MBBS. Karthik teaches at a kindergarten school. The problems start when Kavya returns to the village and is unable to tell her father Col Lakshmipathi (Rao Ramesh) about their love. Lakshmipathi, after retiring from the army, settles with his brothers and their families in the village. Since he is from the army, he is a strict disciplinarian and most members in the house abide by what he says.

When Karthik comes to the village and tells him about his love for his daughter, he can't digest the fact that his daughter wants to marry a fat man. He starts plotting with his friend to send Karthik away. In fact Lakshmipathi brings in another suitable bachelor Captain Bharath (Dr Bharath Reddy) as a competitor. The story is all about the innocent Karthik (who has a golden heart) and his attempts to marry Kavya.

On the face of it, the simple storyline does hold attention. Beneath of course (without screaming) the film is laced with a message. After seeing the film, the obese will not despair for sure!

VLV has all the elements of a good film. First of all, it has a decent story (Mahi) which is built up well without any vulgarity (Saikiran, Rams) making it worthy of viewing for the whole family. It does not have an item number which has become more or less mandatory. It has songs which are shot within the locales of Andhra Pradesh, mostly. It does have the humour without a separate comedy track.

The film's story is definitely predictable and one knows for sure what's in store. The pace of the first half of the film is a tad better than the second half. The point of clash and the climax could have been handled in a more forceful manner. The chemistry between the lead pair seemed to be missing to a large extent.

By setting the movie in the village and calling it Village lo Vinayakudu does not mean that it has to do with a village. The village constitutes the backdrop but the story is what anyone can relate to from the urban areas too. The idyllic environs of Dindi (near Rajolu in East Godavari district – actually the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation's place) where most of the movie is shot, comes alive in almost a picture post-card fashion. And credit for this should go to Ramana Salwa. Actually it's not just the sylvan surroundings of the Godavari region but also bits of Hyderabad are also shot well. The windmill (though it looked a bit out of place) on the banks of the Godavari added a bit of mystique to it.

The music by Manikanth Kadri is melodious to listen and gels well with the film. Neela Meghama, particularly is sonorous. Muddugaare Yashoda too is hummable. The instrumental piece in the beginning with the titles was pretty apt.

Krishnudu lives the role of Karthik. He has the innocence to carry it off. Saranya Mohan is quite a delight to watch in her debut film. She is bubbly as the character demands. Rao Ramesh is natural in his portrayal of the father. Well-known writer Yendamoori Veerendanath with his penchant for asking puzzles in the film gives a good performance too. Dr Bharat Reddy makes his mark in the cameo.

It's good that producer Mahi and director Saikiran managed to get a few corporate tie-ups which helped the film. Some of the names were increasingly mentioned by the cast did seem quite out of place and a 'deterrent'.

All in all Village lo Vinayakudu may be a bit slow but it's perfect viewing for the family -- clean and wholesome. It's away from the usual masala and therefore is good to watch.

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