Of late, we have been witnessing the arrivals of a string of low-budgeted movies being churned out by a fairly young and an inexperienced team, which eventually turns out to be an artistically fine product crafted to perfection. Be it Awe, Goodachari or Arjun Reddy, all these flicks oozed passion and interest in every frame. The recent to join the bandwagon is C/O Kancharapalem, which seems to be a winner already for its output.
The story of the movie opens up with a 50-year-old unmarried man, Gaddam (Mohan Bhagat), who falls in love with a sex worker, whom he met in a liquor store. On a parallel thread, 49-year-old Raju (Subba Rao), is an attender in a government office and is single. Raju has been ousted by his colleagues from their group, thanks to the caste system, while a new officer, Radha provides him a friendly shoulder. Though Radha is just a do-gooder of the present society, Raju, spikes up with a tinge of emotion within himself and develops abnormal feelings which seems to be irrelevant.
Performances by every single actor is spot on and they deserve centum for comprehending the characterizations and the subject. Kesava and Nithya are appealing to a fine extent as they snatch a good screen share as and when they appear on screen. Subba Rao is the major highlight of the movie and he provides great respite with his comical touches and also, flatters the audience by the way he has emoted throughout the movie. The rest of the casting is equally deserving and has chipped in with fine performances, despite not carrying the brand tag experience behind them. Cinematography by Aditya Javvadi is a major takeaway as every single frame appears very natural and realistic. The tone and the mood of the film is simple, pleasant and the visuals are enriching and stunning. Background music is extraordinary while editing is crisp and compliments both the direction and the cinematography departments. The production is apt as the movie’s storyline doesn’t command a huge budget. It’s a good sign of growth in Tollywood to see a top star like Rana Daggubatti backing such a quality product like this. Writer and director, Venkata Maha, is sure to be one great technician in the industry who will make quite a mark. Be it his method writing or the structured narrative, both seem to be arranged in a disciplined manner without disturbing the other flow of the movie. Though it’s multiple love stories travelling in the same product, he needs to be given for his brilliance and the way he has handled it. C/O Kancharapalem touches a lot of sensitive issues in the society in the most matured and gentle manner. It portrays some of the harsh realities of the present day yet not offending any section. This movie makes the audience laugh, cry and feel perturbed but in a sweeter way offering a great visual experience. The curiosity built around each character is praiseworthy while the overall experience offers a roller coaster ride to the audience, making the movie a must-watch in theatres.
On the other side of the coin, we have a contrary romantic tale at a different age spectrum where we have classmates, Sundaram (Kesava K) and Sunitha (Nithya Sree) who exchange emotions quite often and Bhargavi (Praneetha Patnaik), a Brahmin girl in love with a swanky Christian lad, Joesph (Karthik Ratnam). It’s the sheer brilliance of the director who emerges successful in toggling between multiple love stories offering quite bites of all in successive timeframe, which not just makes the audience grooved to their seats, but as well make them empathize the characters.