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Pitta Kathalu Movie Review: This Netflix Anthology On Love And Lust Is A Mixed Bag
Netflix released its first Telugu anthology film, Pitta Kathalu on February 19, Friday. Pitta Kathalu is a collection of four stories that are based on the concepts of love and lust. The four segments of the anthology are directed by Tharun Bhascker, Nandini Reddy, Nag Ashwin, and Sankalp Reddy, respectively.
Did the Netflix anthology impress the audiences? Read Pitta Kathalu movie review here to know...
What's Yay:
Performances
Music
Technical aspects
What's Nay:
Predictable storylines
Less-engaging narratives
Ramula
The first segment Ramula, directed by Tharun Bhaskcer features newcomer Saanvi Megghana in titular roles. The segment narrates the story of a young woman named Ramula, who is in love with Ramchander (Naveen Kumar), the commitment-phobic man-child son of an ex-MLA. However, things take a different turn when Ramchander decides to break up with Ramula, and a politician named Swaroopa (Manchu Lakshmi) enters her life.
The Tharun Bhaskcer directorial is the most engaging film in the anthology. The well-written screenplay, detailed characterizations, and excellent performances by the entire star cast (especially Saanvi who plays the titular role) make the interesting premise a compelling watch.
Meera
The Nandini Reddy directorial depicts the story of Meera (Amala Paul), the young wife of the middle-aged businessman Viswa (Jagapathi Babu). Meera is continuously abused by her suspicious husband. He is insecure about his beautiful wife who is also a talented writer and believes that she is cheating on him. The segment takes a very bold step by throwing light on the most disturbing aspects of an abusive marriage, which is highly commendable.
Amala Paul has delivered an exceptional performance as Meera, while Jagapathi Babu shines in the role of Viswa. This complicated narrative slowly unfolds into a twist that is highly impactful. But Meera does falter at various points (for e.g, the party scene where everyone is so robotically praising Meera's beauty or the scenes that feature a cop who has nothing much to do).
X-Life
This techno-fantasy film, which is directed by Nag Ashwin revolves around a futuristic world that is controlled by a corporate sector named X-Life. The corporate and its head Vikram (Sanjith Hegde) control the minds of people, and aims to wipe out all emotions from them. However, he eventually develops a deep emotional connection with a kitchen staff named Divya (Shruti Haasan), and things take a different turn.
Sanjith Hegde, the leading man scores with the convincing portrayal of Vikram and is truly an unconventional casting choice for the role. Shruti Haasan, on other hand, had delivered a sincere performance as Divya. But the segment that begins on a high note, disappoints with a highly predictable twist and a preachy climax that hardly made any impact.
Pinky
The last story, which is directed by Sankalp Reddy is the least impressive one in this anthology. Pinky depicts the story of Vivek (Satyadev Kancharana), who is having an affair with his ex-wife Pinky (Eesha Rebba). The complicated story unfolds in a highly unrealistic narrative, which makes it hard to connect with any of the characters.
Satyadev delivers a decent performance as a struggling writer, but the character that lacks depth prevents the actor from making any impact. The same applies to the rest of the star cast. The weak narrative and shallow characterizations make this Sankalp Reddy directorial a forgettable watch.
Verdict
Pitta Kathalu is a mixed bag that has impressive themes, convincing performances, and a few amazing cinematic moments. But the predictable narratives that lack conviction make this Netflix anthology an unfulfilling watch.
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