Manorama is a clean entertaining movie in which a socially relevant message of “Humanism” is delivered in a simple way without making it sound preachy. This is a complete multiplex movie targeted at the A centers and it definitely should do well in those centers.

What is it about : The movie unfolds with Gili short for Geetanjali (Charmee) landing up at a friend’s house in Hyderabad’s bustling King Koti area. On the same day, a nameless terrorist (debutante Nishan) on a mission plants a bomb at “MANORAMA” which is the most popular restaurant in Koti area. A coincidence sees them becoming friends and they spend the rest of the day hanging around Manorama. Over a long day, Charmee tells Nishan about her life, her beliefs & how she wants to be a good human despite suffering from a terminal illness. This makes Nishan doubt his own beliefs on wanting revenge from innocents while the bomb is ticking away in Manorama. What finally happens to these two central characters and to Manorama is what the movie ties up neatly at the end. Also, Manorama being the central location has quite a few sub-plots about the people who frequent it

What is Good: Charmee is the central character and she does an amazing job of carrying the entire film on her strength. Her character of a happy-go-lucky do-gooder comes very much alive and she excels in the emotional scenes as well. She is ably supported by Nishan who despite having only a few dialogues does a good job of a brooding terrorist without getting melodramatic. The script and direction ensures that the audience is kept engrossed in the main story & sub-plots without deviating. The songs come in the right places and are mostly in the background. The movie also does not have an item number or loud comic scenes to make it more appealing which is quite commendable

What is bad:Apart from some slight sermonizing in the second half where the movie tends to lose pace at some points, there is nothing else that is really bad about the film. Maybe they could have cut down the running time by 15 mins to keep the screenplay tighter

Me Thinks:The message is simply about humanism and it does that without going overboard with melodramatic speeches & violence. It has a very down-to-earth appeal in the way the two main characters interact in a park over a diet coke while talking about their lives. What is also commendable about the movie is that it does not raise fingers or take sides!

Tailpiece: People from Hyderabad would be familiar with the famous Gokul Chaat eatery in Koti which was a victim of bomb-blasts recently… Manorama would be based on that unfortunate episode!!!