Hi Nanna follows the story of a young girl who befriends a stranger in order to coax her father to tell the story of her mother. The simple premise of the film is flawed but rather emotional, a virtue that engulfs much of the shortcomings in the writing. There is considerable attention given to the emotions amidst a setting that is very urban with the use of vibrant colours to grace multiple scenes throughout the drama. And that itself is quite symbolic of the theme of the film which is hope. The screenplay standing at a shade above 150 minutes does make an emotional watch albeit the flaws that start cropping up in the second hour. Having said that, it is the emotional core of the film that rises above the patchy writing of the second hour to make it immensely watchable. 

The drama works best with its premise and its world building. You are introduced to the protagonist who is shown to be a photography and a single father to a child with whom he shares a warm bond with. And it is very early on that the writers showcase the fact that the character of the child is suffering from an illness that might be clinically fatal. So at its core, the emotions are already setup that are accentuated with the frequent deliberation of the child wanting to know about her mother. In between, the warm father-daughter relationship is beautifully established through shots of him reading out a bedtime story for her to slowly putting her to sleep in hope that he will still get to see her alive the next day. These emotions are beautifully placed in a screenplay that will put a smile on your face. But the secret behind the ‘disappearance’ of the character of the mother is revealed through an extended flashback after the daughter befriends a stranger. 

The proceedings are definitely engaging with the right kind of emotions in play through the first hour even after the introduction of the love angle that blossoms in a pleasant territory despite its predictable screenplay. This reminded me of the newfound interest of Telugu Cinema for urban love-stories, the ones that we have witnessed with the likes of Kushi and Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty ruling the roosts. There is a incessant charm to the proceedings that will put a smile on your face with an interval block that absolutely takes you by surprise with its layered screenplay that did manage to successfully hoodwink you. But the heaviness of the interval block does linger on in the second hour that borders on being silly. 

The second hour was a testing period for the film and the film does falter in that zone to an extent. The writing gets a little cliched and convenient as the characters begin to fall in love with each other all over again. The entire setup of the second hour reminded me of ‘Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind'(in a way) and the more popular film ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ with its third dimension. What holds the screenplay together though is the emotional core which had such a solid foundation in its premise, something that engulfs you even when the writing gets a little shoddy. Having said that, the silliness of the writing takes precedence in its vital third act that may have a few echos from the past but was far too simplistic for my liking besides being abrupt. A little attention to the emotional core of the character of the daughter with the love story being used as an undercurrent may have resulted in a better second hour and impacted the film further. But overall, the screenplay is decent and scores heavily with its emotional core that overpowers a few of the writing flaws.