Date:12/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/12/stories/2008041253430200.htm

Andhra Pradesh

An entertaining flick

COMIC DUO: Ali and L.B. Sriram in ‘Tinnama Padukunnama Tellarinda’

Film: Tinnama Padukunnama Tellarinda

Cast: Ali, Jyotika Krishna, Sivani

Direction: Ram Kumar

The title is inspired from a popular dialogue in Pokiri and the filmmaker makes an effort to cash on it by scripting a comedy around it. Comedy, it certainly is – hilarious in parts and mostly insipid but one will fail to decipher the meaning of the title and its relation to the story even after going through the climax.

A vagabond

Pandu (Ali) is a vagabond who spends most of his time gambling and spoiling the youth in the village and his father (Chalapathi Rao) is hell bent on throwing him out of the house.

His mother (Sudha) pampers him and gets him married to Jyotika Krishna and the bride elopes after the nuptials with Manikyam (Prabhakar) who works as Chiranjeevi’s manager.

It is later revealed that she has been cheated and is rescued by Ali.

Meanwhile, Ali is being wooed by Sivani a thief and the return of Jyotika lands him in trouble.

The first half is entertaining especially the scenes where L.B. Sriram employs Ali and trains him to commit a theft.

The way the duo burgle the house brings the house down but thereafter the film sinks. The sub plot too involving Jeeva, J.P. Reddy and Surya is utterly boring and nonsensical.

Weak script

Both heroines don’t put enough effort into their role. Jyotika is okay looking and so is Sivani but the latter wears a bored expression throughout. Ali dances well and does a decent job but the weak script doesn’t support his performance.

At times the writer goes bankrupt with ideas and the villains mistake Ali as Pandu, the character that Mahesh Babu played in Pokiri.

The case of mistaken identity continues and the moderate dose of comedy falls flat.

Surya as a mad man and Srinivas as a thief add spark to the proceedings and rest of the artistes do what is expected of them.

The music score and cinematography is not up to the mark and screenplay is haphazard.

Leave your brains behind if you want to kill time and laugh at mindless one-liners.

Y. SUNITA CHOWDHARY