Love Reddy, directed by Smaran Reddy, is a romantic lighthearted Telugu drama with Anjan Ramachandra as the star and Shravani Krishnaveni. Narayana Reddy, a bachelor, falls in love but cannot express his feelings. This is a Telugu film that zooms in and out between the joys and miseries of miscommunication in a traditional setting.
The funny part of this story is that Narayana Reddy, a 30-year-old bachelor, is waiting for the perfect girl to turn up. When he meets Divya (Shravani Krishnaveni) he’s instantly hooked, but he can’t express his affection. Divya, Narayana hopes that circumstances will bring them closer and begin to follow. Their love is unspoken, but grows quietly, understatedly as they catch moments, but neither dares to say the words.
Just as things are looking positive for Divya’s family arranges her marriage with another man. This twist gives weight to emotion a delivers the question to Narayana, is Divya really in love with him or has he gone beyond limits to win her over? The dilemmas it explores come to a head in a climax that shows us what happened with their love story.
Performance
Anjan Ramachandra plays Narayana with near-flawless grace, powerful in his ability to convey the emotional wreckage that the character experiences as he strives to express his love. Also, his performance is right at home while in a romantic or climax scene helping to give the story its emotional depth. While complexity is not the best word to describe Divya, it’s fair to say she seems to have much more going on in her than she initially does in the first half of Krishnaveni’s film.
Shravani Krishnaveni, who plays her, does a nice job of doing justice to the dilemma and conflict that she has as a character. The supporting cast has good parts and each of them gives dimension and variation to the story as N.T. Ramaswamy, Ganesh DS, Naagaraj, Punith etc.
Direction and Screenplay
The subtle charm and tension of having unexpressed love show more in Director Smaran Reddy’s approach, which has also a balance between romantic and family elements in the screenplay. The direction accomplishes the direction of Narayana’s inner conflict but the screenplay sometimes falters in pacing, mostly in the second half. Some of it is emotionally shallow and underdeveloped, and therefore some of the narrative predictability is present.
Music
Prince Henry’s music and background score to Love Reddy add a soft romance vibe to difficult situations and a good rhythm to the most important scenes. While the musical elements aren’t overbearing, they help tell the story, giving emotional fodder that matches well with Narayana’s journey, and Divya’s ponderings. Henry’s background score subtly elevates the film’s climax and the film’s ambiance is fresh.
Theme
Love Reddy is about unspoken love and the tiniest of relationships that don’t get to be verbalized. Then, it looks at how cultural and familial expectations can collide with personal desires or which serves as the struggle of individuals both living by duty and by desire. By attempting to present the complexity of love in a traditional setting, however, the movie failed to dig deeper into character growth and relational tension that would have truly captured the audience’s attention.
Conclusion
Love Reddy is a romantic drama that is a feel-good one, it is about the joys and frustrations of unspoken love, and with moments of humor and performance. While it is a tad predictable for a romantic film, and at times can prove a little cumbersome due to the film’s pacing, it’s not soulless for sure, but Narayana’s emotional depth doesn’t get into the gut. The performances of Anjan Ramachandra and Shravani Krishnaveni and Prince Henry’s music do add value, but if you are looking for a deeper love story, Love Reddy might seem a little lacking. However, it’s a nice light, traditional romance for audiences in the mood for it and is now available on iBomma.
