Review: MANASAARA

Film: MANASAARA
Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Moving Images
Cast: Vikram, Sree Divya, Bhanuchander, George Vincent, Ramaraju, Annapurna, Usha Sree, Krishnamohan, Anitha, M S Narayana and others
Music: Sekhar Chandra
Cinematography: N Sudhakar Reddy
Director: Ravi Babu
Producer: K Prakash Babu
Release date: 10/12/2010

Story
A routine romantic tale, the story is about Vikram (vikram) who lives in Hyderabad and he is basically a very chicken hearted guy. His family gets transferred to Rajapalayam in Kerala and this is a small place where ancient customs and traditions are followed. The settlement of issues is usually done by a fight of Kalari, the ancient martial art. Vikram sees Anjali (sree divya) and falls in love with her and soon, she also reciprocates. However, Anjali's aunt harasses her while her 'bava' Rajan Pillai (George) has got a lecherous eye on her. Rajan is also a famous Kalari champion. What happens from there forms the rest of the story.

Presentation:
The director has come up with a rather routine storyline but then he has packed it well with some creative presentation but an okay narrative. The dialogues were regular, the script was not strong but the screenplay was better. Background score was okay but it was disturbing at times and one song was nice. The real credit in the film goes to cinematography. Editing was alright but could have been better in few places. Costumes were constant and the art department was excellent. Vikram was okay in his act but he must work hard for a longer innings. Sree Divya looks sweet and homely and she has done her bit as required. Bhanuchander was good and he got a meaningful role after a long time. George Vincent was a showstealer, he has potential. Ramaraju was regular, Annapoorna was apt, M S Narayana was brief, Krishnamohan was annoying, Ushasree was okay.

Conclusion:
The film is made on the backdrop of Kerala and the Kalari fighting. Though it may not belong to the modern time the film scores on the locations and the greenery to give the visual appeal. However, it has done very poorly on the storyline. While the first half looks silly and repetitive, it is only the second half which has the right momentum and gets few points. Overall, the film focused well on technical aspects but was lacking conviction and connection with the audience. At the box office, scoring a hit will be very difficult.

Cineandhra verdict: Good presentation, poor content