Chinnadana Neekosam: Old wine, new bottle

December 25, 2014 07:29 pm | Updated December 30, 2014 04:09 pm IST - Hyderabad

Nithiin and Mishti

Nithiin and Mishti

There are romantic comedies and then there are romantic comedies that try too hard. A. Karunakaran’s Chinnadana Neekosam starts off looking promising but soon ends up in the latter category. While the film has its share of laughs, it fails to rise above the average mark, mainly due to its slackening pace during the second half. It doesn’t really have anything very fresh to offer.

The film opens with the very macho Nithiin (Nithiin) rescuing a damsel in distress aboard a train even as the remaining passengers are mute spectators to the attempted rape. There’s great style in every punch thrown and one wonders if this is going to be one of those hero worship kind of films. Nevertheless, the fallout of this impressive act is that another passenger Reddy garu (Nasser) is extremely taken by Nithiin’s bravado. Back in Hyderabad Nithiin is surrounded by a loving family, who would be more than happy if he found a nice girl for himself. That is when Nithiin who has been holding out for the perfect girl comes across Nandini (Mishti), a multi-talented girl who teaches children everything from karate, yoga, Bharatanatyam to playing the veena. Expectedly Nandini rebuffs Nithiin’s advances; that is till he helps her rent the penthouse owned by Reddy garu.

The two gradually become good friends and love blossoms, at least for Nithiin even as Reddy garu becomes the indulgent grandparent figure for the two youngsters. Everything is hunky dory till one day Nandini vanishes with Reddy garu and Nithiin is left clueless. His chase leads him to Barcelona where Nandini actually hails from and realises that she had been using him all along. What happens next forms the rest of the plot.

Genre: Romance Director: A. Karunakaran Cast: Nithiin, Mishti, Nassar, Ali Storyline: A happy go lucky guy gets taken for a ride Bottomline: One time watch

The film that is a family entertainer has its fair share of laughs. The dialogues are witty and strike a chord with the audience. Yet somewhere the film loses its pace. The first half of the film is like any other romantic comedy with the grand twist just before the interval. However, the second half just seems like a bunch of unnecessary sequences loosely tied together. For example the gay bar sequence where Nithiin and Ali pretend to be queers to outwit a couple of petty thieves just comes off looking like a forced attempt at comedy. As the film heads towards its logical conclusion, one is left wishing it didn’t have such a run-of-the-mill storyline.

In terms of acting Nithiin does a good job and has some cool dance moves to show off. First timer Mishti too has a good screen presence and manages to pull her weight alongside her co-star. However, dance is definitely not her strong point and that is evident in some of the song dance sequences where even the extras outshine her. Nasser as the hurt and angry grandfather does a good job, while Ali provides some much-needed comic relief in the second half.

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