Majili movie review: Chai-Sam live up to the expectations!

Director: Shiva Nirvana

Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Samantha, Divyansha Kaushik, Rao Ramesh, Atul Kulkarni, Posani Krishna Murali, Subbaraju

Naga Chaitanya and Samantha, the romantic leads in quite a few love stories earlier, enact the roles of husband and wife in ‘Majili’ after their marriage. Written and directed by Shiva Nirvana of Ninnu Kori fame, the film attracted attention for featuring the real life couple in a film as a reel-life couple.

Poorna (Naga Chaitanya), an aspiring cricketer, is in love with Anshu (Divyansha Kaushik) but her naval officer father (Atul Kulkarni) arranges her marriage elsewhere. After many years, Poorna marries Sravani (Samantha) but he still pines for Anshu. At this stage enters a child, Meera. And therein lies the story.

Shiva Nirvana’s debut, the popular Ninnu Kori, marked him out a good narrator. His strong point is his writing, especially the emotional dialogues and scenes. He relies on these talents to elevate the not-so-new story of a young man losing the love of his life and marrying someone else.

Shiva uses the first half to depict the teen Poorna’s life with his friends and cricket. The local cricket matches, the practice sessions and the quarrels are shown in realistic manner. The romantic track of Poorna and Anush comes out nicely. His handling of Poorna’s relationship with his father deserves mention: The father is angry with his son but also cares for him deeply. The second half is more emotional after Poorna marries Sravani. The scenes between the son and father and the father and the daughter-in-law stand out. In this context, the entry of the child in Poorna’s life appears cinematic.

It’s a director’s film and Shiva has made all actors live their characters. If some dialogues are touching, others entertain.

Majili is a perfect fit for Naga Chaitanya and Samantha. They nudge each other to give their best. Naga Chaitanya’s Poorna has two shades, the carefree teenager and the disappointment-laden grown-up, both of which he portrays in a fitting manner. It will be a memorable film for him.

Samantha has been improving with every film and the trend continues in Majili. She doesn’t have many dialogues and it is more about expressions. She and Naga Chaitanya live up to the expectations.

The other highlight is Rao Ramesh who once again showcases his talent and lends weight to the story. Somewhere, he almost transcends acting into another zone. A landmark film for him.

After many comic roles, Posani Krishna Murali gets to play a serious character which he pulls off. Subbaraju supports well. Johnty among the many characters playing Naga Chaitanya’s friends stands out.

The background music by S.S. Thaman flows along with the story, Gopu Sundar’s songs are good. The cinematography is pleasant.

Majili, an emotional journey of a person through two stages of his life is very well written by director Shiva Nirvana. Though the narration is a bit slow, it is an honest and decent film that is marked by the acting of Samantha and Naga Chaitanya and the rest of the cast.