Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty
Introduction
It is a Thursday and the day away from the weekend but the new releases have started pouring in. With that, another flex awaits me as I have finished watching the new Telugu film Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty which is now streaming on Netflix. I had really wished to catch the film in a theatre, a month ago, but had to forego the opportunity as it coincided with the period when I was very ill. And since then, my eyes were set on its OTT release which I must admit, was sooner than expected.
Right from the time the film was announced, I was massively excited about the same. The reason was the quirky title that had a meta-reference to the actors starring in the film namely Anushka Shetty and Naveen Polishetty. The former had scored massively as Devsena in Babubali 2 while the latter has a journey worth savouring already. I have been following Naveen right from his AIB days(yes, another engineer turned actor) wherein his comedy timing was to die for. He slowly graduated to Telugu films and later to Hindi films as well, wherein slowly but surely he has made a mark for himself, now as the solo lead. I was super excited about his pair up with Anushka Shetty and I ventured in ‘Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty’ with a lot of hope and expectations. So then does Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty manage to impress, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty follows the story of a single woman wishing to be a single mother without falling for the concept of love and marriage. Her search makes her stumble upon a guy who falls head over heels for her. Will love triumph eventually? The story here is not novel but there is a freshness and vibrancy to it. The events are light and frothy with just enough drama to keep things afloat without getting too melodramatic. The screenplay standing at a whopping length of almost 150 minutes could have been trimmed down slightly for a crisper watch. Yet, the vibrancy of the drama along with its two leads definitely makes it a compelling watch.
The drama opens with the introduction of the female protagonist who is shown to be a masterchef, and instantly there is a sense of freshness to the drama with respect to her profession. The writers do well in establishing a decent emotion core right at the beginning to provide a strong motivation for the protagonist to opt for artificial insemination in order to become a single mother. The turn of events are emotional at the very beginning but the writers do not continue to dwell on it, by immediately moving ahead with the narrative. The introduction of the male protagonist(an engineer turned standup comic) does give hope to the viewer on love that could eventually blossom but there are many obstacles along the way.
The proceedings are engaging and treated with a sense of light-handedness and a tinge of unforced humour mostly(at times forced too). The occupations of the two protagonist would definitely cater to the millenials while also adding a level of freshness to the drama. The urban setup further enunciates the light and frothy nature of drama while there is an undercurrent of the concept of artificial insemination lurking around the corner. The character dynamics between the two protagonists is effective while also staying true to the ‘opposites attract’ concept. So while there are creative liberties taken and the drama veing predictable without any curveballs thrown in, you are always invested in the journey of the two protagonists while silently rooting for the two to eventually land up together.
One issue that I had with the drama was that it started to get slightly repetitive post the halfway mark. All the equations were drawn but a little more urgency in the narrative style would not have hurt. What that would have done is reduced the overall runtime drastically while also not allowing the screenplay to lag. But there are plenty of heartfelt moments created that will put a little smile on your face or atleast connect with you emotionally. The events leading up to the final act are nicely staged, and I say that because I did feel that the film was headed for a cliched finale atleast with respect to the two characters uniting. This is not to say that it was a surprising finale but atleast there was a genuine flow to the proceedings that had its heart in the right place. And I did like that things did not get overtly melodramatic while maintaining the tone of the drama really well. Overall, the screenplay is light and frothy with a sense of vibrancy to the proceedings.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are light hearted, particularly the ones featuring the multiple standup gigs, with a tinge of drama sprinkled in, that definitely does create a solid impact. The music perfectly blends with the tonality of the drama. There is a sense of freshness that compliments the drama that is unfolding. The BGM also enhances the drama by elevating scenes at various junctures. The cinematography coupled with the colour grading add to the vibrancy of the drama with some beautifully captured frames. A shoutout to the art department who definitely maintains the tone of the drama with some lovely decors to enhance many scenes. The editing could have been crisper to avoid a little lag in the middle. Director Mahesh Babu P does a fabulous job in sticking to the tonality of the drama without deviating from it. To give you a perspective, the Telugu film Kushi drastically shifted from its original tone of a light and frothy comedy to something more serious and melodramatic. But here, there is a sense of smoothness to the drama wherein the director tactfully creates heartfelt moments along the way that have you invested. The direction was pretty good here.
Performances
The performances are pretty good here. Nasser and Sonia Deepti have their moments to shine. Murli Sharma as Sidhu’s father and Tulsi as Sidhu’s mother are dependable supports in the screenplay. Anushka Shetty as Anvitha aka Miss Shetty has a quietly charming presence onscreen that will put a smile on your face. Her innocence coupled with her expressive eyes is reflected so well in her performance. But it is Naveen Polishetty as Sidhu aka Mr Polishetty who is exceptional once again. He has an incredible talent of finding humour at unconventional places while also beautifully expressing his inner turmoils with his measured expressions and an infectious smile. This was a towering act that did hide a few of the writing flaws while elevating the love story to the desired level. Overall, it was yet another towering act by a very talented performer.
Conclusion
Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty is a sweet little breezy Rom-Com that will brighten up your day by putting a smile on your face. Available on Netflix.