Movie: Solo Brathuke So Better
Cast: Sai Dharam Tej, Nabha Natesh, Rajendra Prasad, Rao Ramesh, Vennela Kishore
Director: Subbu
Producer: BVSN Prasad
Music: SS Thaman
Run Time: 2 hr 2 min
Release Date: 25.12.2020
Solo Brathuke So Better has been the talk of Tollywood for being the first film to release post lockdown. Megastar Chiranjeevi, Varun Tej and Rana extended their support for the film, by being part of promotions. The industry in general has been supportive of the film as it marks the return of audiences to theatres after a long gap. The film is a litmus test to all films that are now looking forward to a similar release. So, let’s find out if all the promotions and Sai Dharam Tej’s videos on going to theatres to watch movies have worked or not…
Story:
Virat (Sai Dharam Tej) as the title suggest is a happy go lucky guy who is staunchly against marriage. He wants to live free and enjoy his solo life without being bogged down by marriage and family. In fact, he is against all those in a relationship and leaves no chance to belittle them. His logic is that when our Constitution gives us the right to be free, then why give it up by getting married. Well, that’s Virat for you.
Virat takes inspiration from R Narayanamurthy and his uncle played by Rao Ramesh encourages him to stay the way he is.
Destiny brings him to Hyderabad for a job. Virat joins an event management company. But as fate or script would have it, Amrutha (Nabha Natesh) cancels her wedding with Vennela Kishore and expresses her love for Virat. This leaves Virat in a fix. So, who is Amrutha? Why does she propose to Virat? Will Amrutha manage to change Virat’s views on marriage? That forms rest of the story.
Performances:
Sai Dharam Tej, to be fair to him, pulls off his role well. His character as a marriage-hater and his dialogues are bound to strike a chord with the audiences, especially bachelors.
Nabha Natesh is your quintessential girl next door and looks cute. She performs well in emotional scenes.
Rao Ramesh is his usual best. Be it comedy scenes or emotional scenes, he puts forth his best in his trademark sarcastic style. There is an emotional confrontation between Rao Ramesh and Sai Dharam Tej, which is the highlight of the film and both the actors play to the galleries.
Rajendra Prasad and Naresh put in the best they can in the characters etched out for them. Satya evokes some laughs in the first half.
Technical Excellence:
Debutante director Subbu has managed to come up with a story that the audiences would connect to. But the downside is that he fails to pull together the film as he totally relies on filmi formula. This impacts the screenplay and narration and after a point and the audiences end up second guessing the happenings.
Such films are best with good doses of comedy to hold audiences interest. But Subbu’s film falls flat in that department. Comedy works in the first part of the film, but it falls apart as the film progresses. Vennela Kishore is wasted in a badly carved character. He barely evokes any laughs.
Somehow one gets the feel that the director could not tell what he wanted to with the lead characters. However, Rao Ramesh’s character plays a key role in the way the film proceeds.
But Subbu does manage to pen good dialogues.
SS Thaman’s background music is the highlight of the film and he provides some decent scores. Venkat Dilip’s cinematography is good to the eye and he captures the essence of the film through his lens.
While the production values are of top quality, Navin Nooli’s editing is patchy. Though he does a good job in the first half, he totally fails to hold the film together in the second half.
What works…
- Sai Dharam Tej’s performance
- Rao Ramesh’s emotional episodes
- Dialogues and background score
- Fun-filled first half
- Subbu’s emotional dialogues
What doesn’t…
- Director’s formulaic narrative in the second half
- Unimpressive and stale comedy in the second half
- Repetitive scenes
- Badly written climax
Final analysis:
The film has hit the screens after 9 months of lockdown. And given the kind of promotion, the audiences had high expectations from the film. Usually, good dose of comedy is expected from such films. However, Solo Brathuke So Better can be clearly demarcated into two halves. While the first half is entertaining and raises hopes for the second half, the director totally fails to maintain the tempo and disappoints the audiences. His intent on sticking to tried and tested formula has marred the film.
While audiences did risk Corona and queue up for the film, they have come out disappointed. Many feel it is not worth the risk to go to theatres to watch a film that fails to offer what is expected of it.