HYDERABAD: Widely publicised as a film that’s bringing back the Allari Mogudu combination of Mohan Babu, Ramyakrishna and Meena after 23 years, Mama Manchu Alludu Kanchu would’ve felt outdated had it released two decades ago too. This time, actors Allari Naresh, Poorna and Ali are part of the mix, but more so as sidekicks to the senior actor.
The film pans out as a confusion comedy, where Mohan Babu finds ways to avoid confrontation between his two wives, Suryakantham (Meena) and Priyamvada (Ramyakrishna). Their identities are like their names, you’re informed, while the former’s old worldly, the other sports a touch of oomph. Besides, Mohan Babu essays a character with his original name here, Bhaktavatsalam Naidu, one who’s always finding ways to play safe and act like a perfect husband to both wives.
Things take a scarier turn when both the children of Mohan Babu, son Gautham (Varun Sandesh, born to Ramyakrishna) and daughter Shruti (Poorna, born to Meena), who’re siblings, plan a blind date, unaware of their backgrounds. That’s where Bhaktavatsalam Naidu brings Balaraju (Allari Naresh) and Ismail (Ali) into the fray to avoid any further development to the equation. To complicate things, Shruti then falls for Balaraju and the rest has Mohan Babu trying hard to escape from the deadlock in a deadpan narrative that hardly has a surprise in store.
Mama Manchu.. . does have a series of rib-tickling one-liners by Sreedhar Seepana, but it’s stuck so much in an old-fashioned cover that you refuse to look beyond. The melodramatic background score by Koti contributes to it. The laziness of the outcome shows when a flashback episode is not shot and instead has frames conveniently borrowed from Allari Mogudu , the same cast and the ‘stuck between two wives’ backdrop helping him establish the connections. Also, you see the similarity the makers are trying to strike when they have Mohan Babu appreciating a sequence from the Sobhan Babu-starrer Evandi Aavida Vachindi , where two wives fight for the same man. Meena, in a sati-savitri like response to this, makes him cleanse his mouth. Whatever that means!
Allari Naresh, in a Mohan Babu showcase, doesn’t get a chance to show his worth. Ali’s womaniser demeanours are in bad taste. Ramya Krishna, being reduced to a glamorous add-on, Baahubali makes matters worse. Meena and Poorna get good screen space, but there’s no value addition really. Varun Sandesh, in an extended special appearance, fares marginally better. The length, at 135 minutes is not exactly cumbersome, though the lack of imagination in the entire setting hurts. Watching glimpses from Mohan Babu’s 40-year film journey at the commencement engages you better.
Mama Manchu Alludu Kanchu
Cast: Mohan Babu, Allari Naresh, Ramyakrishna, Meena, Poorna
Direction: Sreenivass Redde
Music: Raghu Kunche, Achu Rajamani, Koti
Genre: Family drama
Bottomline: Where’s the punch-u?
