Naa Autograph Telugu Movie
Action star Ravi Teja delivers a stunning performance as a dejected lover in the Telegu film "Naa Autograph", despite the role going against his established image of an angry young man.
He looks playful in the first part but later portrays with ease the character of a depressed man before Bhoomika restores his confidence with her positive outlook.
Cinematographer-turned-director S. Gopal Reddy religiously sticks to the earlier Tamil version to tell a touching love story. But he could have retained the memorable number of the original "Gnabagam Varudhe".
Storywriter Cheran's plot is loosely inspired by Raj Kapoor's "Mera Naam Joker". But Cheran makes the third girl in the hero's life a friend, instead of a lover.
Bhoomika again displays her histrionic skills while the other two girls just repeat their performances. The comedy evokes a few laughs, but has no chance against the heavy melodrama of the second half.
The film has a wrong tagline. "A life history" sounds a funny description for the story of a 30-plus man.
The story begins with ad director Ravi leaving for his village to invite his old friends and relatives to his marriage. While on his way to the village, he recollects the various stages of his life.
In his adolescence, he falls in love with a girl, who later walks out of his life. His father is then transferred to Kerala, where he gets friendly with a girl. After various attempts he finally wins her love but her father gets her married to another boy.
Ravi's family leaves Kerala. He hits a bout of depression but recoups to search for a job. He gets a job with the help of Bhoomika and she brings happiness back into his life.
The rest of the story is about how exactly she does it. However, the film ends in a manner that is far from conventional.
The film is a brave venture. The Telugu audience is not known to have responded encouragingly to such off-beat attempts earlier.
But the crew is keeping its fingers crossed.
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