Review : Em Chesthunnav? – Falters in execution

A small-budget film named Em Chesthunnav? has hit the screens today. It stars Vijay Rajkumar, Neha Pathan, and Amita Ranganath in the key roles. The movie is written and directed by Bharat Mitra. Let’s see how the film is.

 

Story:

Sai (Vijay Rajkumar) doesn’t know what to do in his career and just keeps roaming around. Everyone in the neighborhood keeps asking him what he is up to in life (Em Chesthunnav?). He falls in love with Riya Nakshatra (Neha Pathan), who owns a restaurant. One fine day, Riya asks Sai to look after one of their restaurants, and this leads to their breakup. After a couple of years, Sai sets his career goal, and he gets ample support from Shresta (Amita Ranganath). Who is this Shresta? What value did she bring to Sai’s life? What did Sai do during those two years? This is what the film is about.

 

Plus Points:

After the entry of Amita Ranganath in the middle of the second half, things take a turn. She changes the course of the film with her impressive performance. Her character is superbly written, and the actress gave it her all. A flashback portion exists for Amita’s character, and this is where the emotions work out well.

Despite being a debutant, Vijay Rajkumar gave a promising performance. His dialogue modulation looked natural, and he evoked decent laughs with his comedy timing. Neha Pathan also made her debut with this flick, and the actress performed decently in her given role.

 

Minus Points:

The first half of the film is tedious, with some random scenes. The performances are fine, but the depth is missing in the writing. The movie deals with a relatable topic to modern-day youth. Though there is no grip on the proceedings, the relatability factor comes to the rescue now and then. But a significant event in the first half changes the momentum upside down.

The trajectory that Sai’s life takes after this event looked odd, and this is where the film ran into issues. The problem continues for a significant time, and the interval block doesn’t cause much excitement.

Even the second half starts on a pale note, and it is only with the entry of the other female lead that the film becomes engaging. But it is a bit too late by then. The way the beginning and end portions are linked is not impressive, and this aspect actually could have brought more value if handled well.

 

Technical Aspects:

Gopi Sundar played his cards right with regard to the background score, and even his songs were decent. Prem Adivi’s cinematography looked impressive. The editing could have been much better. The production values are fine, too, for this small-budget film.

Writer and director Bharat Mitra has chosen a good concept, but the film is narrated in a haphazard way. Had the screenplay been better, the film could have resonated well with the target audiences.

 

Verdict:

On the whole, Em Chesthunnav? had a relevant topic, but the film’s narrative didn’t do justice to the concept. The first half and the initial portions of the second half are stretched, and the tempo goes down here considerably. The flashback portions and the scenes that follow it in the latter hour are the only saving grace.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.25/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

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