Movie: Amrutham Chandamama Lo
Director: Gunnam Gangaraju
Cast: Sivannarayana, Inturi Vasu, Srinivas Avasarala, Dhanya Balakrishna
Rating: ***1/2
Recreating the magic of iconic characters that children in the previous generation have grown up with, into a fulfilling celluloid experience requires something more than creative juices. Amrutham Chandamama Lo doesn’t make the mistake of turning them into caricatures grabbing hold of the cinematic liberties. Amrutha Rao, Anji and Appaji are still the capable trio placed in mockery-equivalent situations who needn’t have reasons to take a dig at each other, frame methods to fall in a trap and find uncanny ways to come out of it later. Just like the television franchise, it enjoys and secures its vulgarity-free stamp consistently.
The film has a crisp introduction of the camaraderie between its lead characters Amrutha Rao and Anji. The individual character sketches of Srinivas Avasarala and Harish however have uncomfortable starts. The narrative is weaved around a single theme of how the two in spite of their larger-than-life financial stature can invite ill-luck into their existences with their unanimous decision of visiting the moon. Only when their discussions surrounding the plan commence, the film’s unadulterated comic potential escalates.
Gunnam Gangaraju has a neck-tight screenplay and invites more characters to multiply the confusion. One of them is that of the factionist Ahuthi Prasad’s part where he is named Poll Reddy and his daughter, Doll Reddy. He scales a tad further to bring home an international terrorist Sin Laden. He rips apart the Egypt pyramids into pieces, creates toll gates to enter the moon and invites guests to a marriage that’s to be hosted on the newly occupied land. The life the characters live have could have easily been a practical joke if not for the naive scientific references that the maker regularly utilises, which are in a league of their own. The ideas are surprisingly fresh and the theatric atmosphere suddenly resembles the old-adage like fitting platform to promote creativity. The alluring balance between fiction and fact is such a delight.
The fact that none of the characters are elevated or downplayed helps it attain an underdog feel-good charm. These are mostly essayed by well-picked new faces. In addition to Srinivas Avasarala, credible performances from Harish and Dhanya Balakrishna help their parts achieve a new lease of life. The joy of the latter to see her moon-weight reduce to a sixth part of her earthly measure is an example to show that the film makes it a point to focus on the unflinching pleasures of common people. Most of the interconnected threads are constructed into a proper whole by the director who ends the journey on an apt high.
There is not a moment of melodrama in the total exercise and even if it does, the situations are more than happy to let humor take the former’s place. Watch out for the revamped Yeruvaka Sagalo track in the latter half too. This offering in a ‘moonly’ backdrop has every ingredient in the right amount to tap the child in everyone’s heart. Let your serious veins take a deserving break with Amrutham Chandamama Lo and for once, you can be sure of taking the younger lot along with utmost confidence to savor this nectar.
Review by Srivathsan N. First published in Cinegoer.net
