Rojulu Marayi movie review: Maruthi fails to deliver

Cast: Tejaswi, Kruthika, Ali, Parvatheesam, Vasu, Raja Ravindra and Chetan
Director: Murali Krishna Mudidani

 

A “small-time” film, Rojulu Marayi is big news basically because producer Dil Raju and Maruthi has joined hands to make it. But with Maruthi moving on to direct “bigger” films, he passed on the story and screenplay to debutant director Murali Krishna. Adhya (Kruthika) and Rambha (Tejaswi) are fast friends who stay at a working women’s hostel. Though they have boyfriends, they are also friendly with Aswath (Chetan) and Peter (Parvatheesam) respectively. Though Aswath and Peter love them sincerely, the girls just use them for money as they had decided to be married to their actual boyfriends.

Curious to know their future, the two girls go to a baba in Srisailam. He tells them that their husbands will die five days after their marriage. Shocked, the girls hit upon a sinister plan and force Aswath and Peter to marry them, so that once they die they can get married to their real lovers. However, the story takes a dramatic turn soon after their marriage, and what follows next, and what the girls end up doing, form the story.

Director Murali Krishna follows in mentor Maruthi’s footsteps. Double entendres and witty dialogues are in plenty. Maruthi is infamous for portraying women in a bad way, and in Rojulu Marayi it is no different. However, the two girls pretending to be in love with the boys only to dupe them is a new twist, though the girls blindly believing in a baba’s predictions remains far-fetched.

Thus the movie, which is bound to take twists and turns, has director Murali Krishna in knots. The direction wanders aimlessly in the second half. If you think the director has made up with the first half, which is loaded with some real entertainment involving scenes of ghosts and horror, it’s wrong. A few comic scenes too fail to lift the audience and put them in the line of the story.

There are also some anecdotes that have been lifted from Venkatesh-starrer Drushyam, giving credence to the talk that Maruthi will be directing the star’s next film. Tejaswi, however, steals the show with her lively performance. She also provide that oomph. Kruthika sticks to her role as an everyday girl but is made to weep most of the time.

Parvatheesam of Kerintha provides a few laughs, but is irritating most of the time. Chetan, a new face, shows some promise. Raja Ravindra does a cameo role as a police officer. Comedian Ali too is wasted in the movie. Vasu of Amrutham fame, who plays the role of servant Vibhoothi, does some good imitation of Venkatesh’s character in Drushyam.

Music score by JB is lilting in part, while the cinematographer seems to get carried away by busts and never misses a chance to focus on them. While the film shows Maruthi has failed as a writer, one wonders why a popular producer like Dil Raju got associated with the film. Though one assumed that Rojulu Marayi could be in the horror/comic category, it’s neither. Watch it at your own peril.