Krishna Vrinda Vihari
Introduction
Onto the next release of the extended weekend(and it is that knock of Kohli which is to blame for all the massive workload) and I finished watching the new Telugu film Krishna Vrinda Vihari streaming on Netflix last night. Quite honestly, Krishna Vrinda Vihari was one such film that I had no expectations from whatsoever. Even some of the reviews that I read termed it as a spiritual successor to the Telugu film Ante Sundarakini. And that was a film that I had really loved. So not knowing what to expect I ventured into the film Krishna Vrinda Vihari and here are my two cents on it.
Story & Screenplay
Krishna Vrinda Vihari follows the story of a man who tells white lies to his family to ensure that he is married to the girl of his dreams. What happens next? Clearly the criticism surrounding the film is not entirely long and you will feel as if you are watching a mellowed down version of Ante Sundarakini. Now the story is light and breezy and not bad at all, but firstly it is not novel and secondly, if you are coming so close on heels to a film on the same subject that was massively loved then you are inviting trouble for sure. And there are bound to be comparisons too. The screenplay standing at 140 minutes seemed slightly long for a subject like this but I was pleasantly surprised at it not being dull.
The drama is a commercial entertainer veiled as a Rom-Com. So to put it simply, there are sequences were some people are flying after being smacked, or random air fluttering the shirt of the protagonist. This is fine and acceptable. But then the setting should have been a little more palatable. The drama does unfold in an IT sector of an MNC and literally nobody behaves like that, the way a few characters do in the film. And I say this because I am from the IT sector and the one portrayed is anything but that. To top it, in this setting you don’t see brawls, leave alone people flying around after getting into one.
So the first 40 odd minutes were a straight put off for me. Things do get better with the introduction of the conflict which results in some lighter moments following a series of confusion and chaos. While the proceedings are mildly entertaining, the drama suffers from some repeated writing. Which did bring me to the outstanding screenplay of Ante Sundarakini which was non linear and always had a trick up its sleeve unlike this drama which is pretty much straight forward.
The final act here is underwhelming and doesn’t exude any confidence whatsoever. In fact, the writing is cliched and borderline preachy and it reflects in its simplistic writing. While the comic pieces work individually, the second half seemed like a collection of scenes put together without any focus being on maintaining the flow of the drama. So overall, the writing here is pretty average.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are cheesy and pretty much below power and also preachy. The music is alright as is the BGM. The cinematography is decent but the choppy editing wherein the transitions are pretty much the screen blacking out, just takes all the juice out of the drama. Director Annish Krishna does a decent job in constructing a few engaging scenes but his direction never rises above the average script.
Performances
The performances are fairly decent here. Sathya, Brahmaji and Rahul Ramachandra contribute well in the funny sequences. Radhika Sarathkumar as Amritavalli is pretty good. Shirley Sethia as Vrinda looks really pretty but her acting is just about okay. Naga Shourya as Krishna is first rate here. He has a natural charm to his character that keeps it going despite some problematic sequences too.
Conclusion
Krishna Vrinda Vihari is Ante Sundarakini lite(and no where close to this gem) making for just an average watch. Streaming on Netflix.