Cast: Raj Tharun, Hebah Patel, Hema, Noel Sean and others
Director: Surya Pratap
Rating: 3 stars
Popular director Sukumar has turned producer with Kumari, 21F. Surya Pratap is the director and the film had generated a lot of curiosity as many Tollywood celebrities had promoted it. Top technicians like Ratnavelu and Devi Sri Prasad worked on this small-budget film that stars Raj Tharun and Hebah Patel. Siddhu (Raj Tharun) is narrating the story from jail. In flashback, Siddhu lives in a middle class colony along with his mother (Hema) who works as a nurse.
He has three friends who are thieves. They steal money from ATMs and hide in an old dilapidated building and Siddhu helps them with food and other things. One day, he meets a girl, Kumari (Hebah Patel), and falls in love. Kumari is an upcoming model and a broad-minded girl who lives with her ailing grandfather. They go on a date to a pub, get drunk and she kisses him.
Initially, Siddhu is not bothered, but her bold attitude worries him. He expresses his love for her, but she says that he is not mature enough to love her. Siddhu is confused and asks her to change her ways. Meanwhile, Siddhu’s friends come to know about his love story. Following this, some unexpected incidents take place, which leads to a surprise climax.
Though Surya Pratap is the director, it was Sukumar who provided the story and the screenplay and like most of his subjects, Kumari 21F is also innovative. And Surya Pratap has handled the bold subject well.
It is not easy to tell a story about a good girl who has a bold and mischievous nature and who falls in love with a middle class boy. Though there are a few risqué scenes and dialogues, they have been handled deftly. When it comes to the performance, it is definitely Hebah who steals the show with her daring performance. This is a very bold character and in just her second film, she has shown a lot of maturity and looks beautiful to boot. Raj has already proved himself in his earlier two films and gives a decent performance once again. In other characters, Noel Sean is notable and has a bright future. Ratnavelu is one of India’s finest cinematographer and he proves it once again in the film. Devi Sri Prasad’s songs are catchy.
The film’s first half is entertaining and the climax is very surprising. But the film also has many flaws too. On one hand, the boy condones his friends’ behaviour when they steal money from ATMs but when it comes to the girl, he takes on a holier-than-thou attitude. There are quite a few other inconsistencies. The second half is a bit slow and could have been made better. The film is a coming-of-age love story and definitely not for kids, given the adult dialogues and scenes.
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