| Release date: 15 Feb 2013 | ||
| 123telugu.com Rating : 2.25/5 | ||
| Director : G. Neelakanta | ||
| Producer : DS Rao | ||
| Music Director : Kiran Varanasi | ||
| Starring : Varun Sandesh, Sanchita Padukone, Catherine Tresa |
Neelakanta has made a mark for himself as a genre director with films like ‘Missamma’ and ‘Show’. He has attempted to come up with a commercial romantic flick this time around with ‘Chammak Challo’. The film has Varun Sandesh, Sanchita Padukone and Catherine Tresa in lead roles. Kiran Varanasi has scored the music. Let us see how the film is
Story :
Kishore (Srinivas Avasarala) is a wannabe filmmaker who is on the lookout for a fresh new love story. He runs into professor Apparao Aggarwal (Shayaji Shinde) during a morning jog and comes to know about the love story of Shyam (Varun Sandesh) and Anshu (Sanchitha Padukone).
Apparao Aggarwal is a Professor of Communications. Shyam and Anshu happen to be his students. Apparao encourages them to fall in love and even tries his best to ignite some sparks between Shyam and Anshu. You see, Mr. Apparao’s izzat has taken a beating and he wants to exact revenge by making them fall in love!!
As is the norm, Shyam and Anshu soon fall in love and get engaged. But fate throws in a cruel twist in the form of Sunaina (Catherine Tresa), a super hot and vivacious young lady. All hell breaks loose when Shyam develops feelings for Sunaina.
What happens next? Will Shyam marry Sunaina or Anshu? And will Kishore get that unique love story he so desperately needs? That forms the story of ‘Chammak Challo’
Plus Points:
Catherine Tresa looks very hot in the movie and she has the potential to be a superstar in future if she plays her cards right. She bears a passing resemblance to Sonali Bendre in this movie. Shayaji Shinde tries his best to entertain viewers with his antics and high energy levels. Srinivas Avasarala is neat.
The stout and dark guy with a funny accent, who acted as the classmate of Varun Sandesh and Sanchitha Padukone, did a great job. Vennela Kishore brings a few laughs with a brief cameo.
Minus Points :
Sanchita Padukone just does not make the cut as a lead actress. She has neither the acting skills nor the glamour required for job. Varun Sandesh is getting repetitive in his performances and his look in this movie is not too appealing. When I asked around, the biggest grouse people had with him in this movie was his hairstyle.
The movie’s pace is terribly slow and there are a lot of irritating scenes in the movie, like the one where Varun Sandesh and Sanchita Padukone sit and gaze at stars. Poor dialogues make such scenes even more unbearable than they actually are.
The motive behind Shayaji Shinde’s obsessive desire to get Varun and Sanchita together is very superficial. The romantic track between Varun and Sanchita never really takes off emotionally. The conflict and the subsequent patch up scenes also fail to connect emotionally, primarily because of poor dialogues and superficial execution.
Music is the lifeblood of a romantic film. Sadly, it is not impressive here. The songs have not been shot well either and their placement in the film leaves a lot to be desired too.
Most people will not be able to digest Brahmaji as Varun Sandesh’s father. He is too young and smart to be slotted into such roles.
Technical Aspects :
Ranganath Gogineni’s cinematography is very average. Nagi Reddy’s editing could have been a lot better. A more liberal use of the scissors would have helped the movie’s pace considerably. Dialogues are very bad.
Kiran Varanasi’s music is not impressive. Neelakanta’s direction is below par. One gets the feeling that he tried to make a statement by attempting a ‘different’ love story with ‘commercial elements’.
Verdict :
‘Chammak Challo’ is a very slow and poorly executed romantic drama. Catherine Tresa’s glamour and Shayaji Shinde’s energy levels salvage the film marginally. On the whole, this film is yet another disappointment from Neelakanta.
123telugu.com Rating – 2.25/5
Reviewed by Mahesh S Koneru
