Cast: Sumanth, Akakshna Singh, Mirchi Kiran.
Director: Gautham Thinnanoori
After many attempts over seven years, Sumanth does not disappoint with Malli Raava, a simple romantic story. The film begins with Karthik (Sumanth) and his parents waiting at the registrar office for his fiancée Anjali (Akanksha Singh). Anjali drops out at the last minute. The story then goes into flashback. Anjali’s parents, transferred to the small town, are a quarrelsome couple and decide to separate. They move out of the town a year later. Anjali and Karthik are in school together for a year, and fall in love. Karthik grows up to join a software company in Hyderabad where Anjali comes as a project manager. Both decide to marry, but Anjali scarred by her parents’ separation develops cold feet. She instead opts to marry an NRI, leaving quite a few knots to be untangled.
Debutant director Gautam Thinnanoori narrates Malli Raava in a different way, but brings in very unnatural office comedy scenes. The romance of the lead pair while in school is stretched. But for these, Malli Raava is a decent film and well made. This is Sumanth’s best film in the last few years, and gives his career a boost. The highlight is Akanksha Singh. The child artistes have done a good job and the rest of the cast, mostly new faces, support well. Cinematographer Satish Mutyala captures the beautiful locations of Razole well. The music is good, and the songs are in the background. Interestingly, there is no duet. If you are bored with the masala kitsch, Malli Raava looks afresh!
