| Release date : June 6, 2014 | ||
| 123telugu.com Rating : 2.5/5 | ||
| Director : Prakash Raj | ||
| Producer : Vallabha | ||
| Music Director : Illayaraja | ||
| Starring : Prakash Raj, Sneha, Tejas, Samyuktha |
National Award winning actor Prakash Raj, has been one of the busiest actors in Indian films. Very less people know that he has also directed few award winning films. This time around, he has come up with a mature love story in the form of Ulavacharu Biryani. This film has Sneha and Tejas in other lead roles, and has hit the screens today. Let’s see how it is.
Story:-
Kalidasu(Prakash Raj) is 45 year old archaeologist, who stays with his uncle and a cook. He is a die hard foodie, and can go to any lengths to taste good food. His uncle(M S Narayana) is always behind Kalidasu and wants him to get married at any cost.
One fine day, Kalidasu’s nephew(Tejas) gifts him a phone, and the first call he receives is a wrong number from a dubbing artist called Gauri(Sneha). The conversation starts with a small fight, but after several calls to each other, Kalidasu and Gauri become thick friends.
Both of them share the same interests on food, and exchange recipes over the phone. As their friendship blossoms into love, they finally plan to meet each other. But the day they decide to meet, each of them get apprehensive and send their respective cousins for the meeting.
There arises a series of confusion and chaos, making the couple separate with each other. Rest of the story is as to how the mistaken identity is sorted out, and how the couple finally reunite.
Plus Points:-
Without doubt, one of the biggest highlights of the film is the lead pair of Prakash Raj and Sneha. Though Prakash, is a master in carrying off his roles with ease, it is Sneha who walks away with the cake here.
She looks perfect as a 35 year old unmarried lady, and does an awesome job. The way she has shown the displeasure in the life of her character is too good. The way her role has been executed is also decent.
One of the other plus points of the film is the role done by the debutante hero Tejas. This young boy looks impressive and has decent acting skills.
The way the couple get close through conversation about food has been showcased quite interestingly. First half an hour of the film is interesting with some comic elements.
Minus Points:-
The biggest minus of this film is its story. This kind of concept has been covered in previous films like Lovely and the Hindi film Mujse Friendship Karoge.
Yet another major drawback of the film is its pace. Right form the word go, pace is very slow and takes for ever to finish. Even though there are some good moments in the first half, the second half takes even longer to finish.
There are basic loop holes in plot. For example the Aadivasi character which comes into the story has no proper ending and clarity. Songs only add to the extra run time of the film.
Youngsters who are looking out for entertainment and regular commercial fun, can stay away from it. Samyukta, the girl who played an important role was just below average. Some one more prominent and glamorous heroine could have added a lot of zest to the role and the film.
Technical Aspects:-
Camera work of the film is pretty good. The way the archaeology surveys and governments building have been showcased is quite good. Music by Ilayaraja is decent, and the song which describes food has also been shot well.
Ilayaraja’s background score makes the film look simple and pure. Even though Prakash Raj starts off with a interesting set up in the love story, he loses the plot half way through.
Once the interval starts, he makes the film quite predictable and downplays the entertainment factor. All the way through the second half, he adds unnecessary scenes and makes the film go bland.
Editing of the film is quite good but a few scenes could have been easily avoided.
Verdict:-
On the whole, Ulavacharu Biryani has its moments of class and uniqueness. But the entire second half, and some flavorless pace spoils the fun. Released in three languages, this film might find a few takers in Tamil and Kannada, but for Telugu audience who are used to the regular masala entertainment will not savoir this slow and mature love story.
123telugu.com Rating – 2.5/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team
