Mahanubhavudu is a straight, uncomplicated script and looks as if it is just another story that germinated to cash on human flaws and convert it to entertainment. Assuming that no one would be interested if a disorder is discussed in a serious way, the first half has hero Anand (Sharwanand) reducing Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) to a joke while the second half tries to elicit sympathy for his character.
- Cast: Sharwanandf, Mehreen
- Direction: Maruti
- Music: Thaman
- Plot: A paranoia for cleanliness distances a man from human relations
The film opens with the hero, who is a very organized person, going about his routine with a fair amount of aggression — so much so that he even cleans the dirty bike of a pizza delivery man at his home, checks the car door handle even after he automatically locks it and refuses to run in the park without an air purifier. Everything has a designated place in his life. He also thwarts human touch so much that he misses out on love.
The second half shows how this disorder as a suffocating effect on his life and how the woman he loves moves away from him. Loving a person for his fetish for cleanliness is good but living with someone with OCD is a whole different thing.
The scene now shifts to the village where a challenge is thrown upon him to prove his love and how the smile-inducing scenes suddenly turn sentimental, before eventually heading to a happy ending forms the crux of the story.
It is a relief to see Sharwanand be a part of a non-intense story where every bone and expression needs to be active and entertaining. He goes about his work with zeal as director Maruti gives it a compact finish. Mehreen as Meghana is pretty and comes up with a decent portrayal of an angry and an impatient girl who is tired of putting with a man who is suffering from a disorder. Vennela Kishore as Sharwanand’s friend gets a good enough space to make pot shots at the latter and have fun in the process. There are so many occasions when the word OCD is used and one feels the cleanliness ritual is being overdone, especially the toilet humour. The director doesn’t allow the scenes to get overtly sentimental. He focuses only on making his point wrapped in humor. This is not a spectacular story or a film where you will fall off the chair laughing — it is uncomplicated and fresh and keeps you engaged.
The song ‘Mahanubhavudiveraa’ is obviously from Gandhamu Puyaruga (Thyagaraja Kriti) and the rest of the numbers, be it the lyrics or picturisation, is interestingly written and in tune with the situation and subject. Don’t expect an out-and-out hilarious narration as there are no regular comedians like Sapatagiri and Shakalaka Shankar. With a very good climax and message, Maruti makes it a good time-pass watch for the family audience.
