'Couple Friendly' Movie Review
Actors: Santosh Shobhan, Manasa Varanasi, Rajiv Kanakala, Yogi Babu, Goparaju Ramana and others
Music: Aditya Ravindran
Cinematography: Dinesh Purushothaman
Producer: UV Creations
Story - Screenplay - Direction: Ashwin Chandrasekhar
Despite scoring marks as an impressive actor, other than the OTT released ‘Ek Mini Katha’, young hero Santosh Soban doesn’t have any hit films to his credit. Miss India winner, Telugu girl Manasa Varanasi, faced a massive setback with her debut film, Devaki Nandana Vasudeva. With these two actors as the leads, newcomer director Tamilian Ashwin Chandrasekhar carved out the film “Couple Friendly”. Let’s have a look at how this Valentine’s Day treat actually fared.
STORY:
Despite completing studies, Siva (Sanotsh Soban) is struggling to land a job. To make ends meet, he drives a bike-taxi in Chennai. At the same time, to escape her parents, who want to get her married, Mitra (Manasa Varanasi) also lands in the same city. Unexpectedly forced out of her hostel, she roams around the city on Siva’s taxi in search of a hostel, which goes in vain. Trusting Siva, she decides to share his room, which eventually makes them fall in love and thus get into a live-in relationship. While Siva grabs a job, Mitra is still unemployed, which leads to quarrels and a breakup. Do they meet again, or will their parents find out about the live-in? And all other questions will be answered on the silver screen.
NARRATIVE-ANALYSIS:
When the Censor Board asked the movie makers to change the title from “Couple Friendly” to “Friendly Couple”, saying that they could award a U/A certificate, the makers refused it and walked out with ‘A’ certificate. Looking at the lip-lock scenes in the trailer, even the audience felt that the A-certificate will be a positive, and thought that the film is a masala-stuff carved out for youths. But then, though there are liplocks and steamy scenes inside Couple Friendly, they don't end up like masala stuff. Rather, they blend into the flow of the movie. At every point, those scenes look like part of the narrative and feel realistically needed. Like how they didn’t agree to change the title, the Couple Friendly team hasn’t compromised in narrating the film honestly, either. In recent times, there are no films like this that dealt with a love story in a realistic, entertaining, and mature way.
Stories that deal with the live-in relationship of a boy and a girl are not new in Tollywood. However, the way these stories are narrated and viewed by the audience actually matters, and Couple Friendly is a sincere movie in such attempts. Right from the hero-heroine’s introduction, we feel the freshness, and the viewer loses the feeling of watching a film in just a few minutes. It gave a vibe like we’re watching those characters live, in front of us. To avoid artificiality, they’ve shot the film in real locations and filled it with simple dialogues that feel natural, making us travel with the characters. Though the characters and scenes are nostalgic, the treatment is fresh, thus making the scenes exciting.
While the first half is full of fun and exciting love stories, the second half is driven by emotions, giving it a serious tone. Though we expect the climax and pre-climax events of such films in one particular way, director Ashwin Chandrasekhar gave his typical Tamil touch in the ending, leaving us with a heavy heart and tears. Though such climaxes were indigestible for the Telugu audience in the past, these days they are working out, so it will not work against the movie. While the narrative is mostly realistic, Couple Friendly took some cinematic liberties, too. How would a girl trust and move with a bike-taxi guy she met just that day? Why wouldn’t she find a hostel in a city like Chennai, and shares room with this guy? These things sound a bit exaggerated, making it an overdose of Tamil flavour. While the first half moves fast, the second half is a bit slow and feels elongated. However, with tracks like hers, brother and sister-in-law also creating emotion, Couple Friendly remains as that special love story in recent times.
ACTORS:
By taking two years of gap, Santosh Soban chose the right story that resulted in a positive outcome. He delivered his best as an actor for the story, playing a mature role, and his involvement could be seen throughout the film. From fun scenes to emotional sequences, he impressed. At the same time, Manasa Varanasi stood tall in front of him, even dominating the hero in some scenes. She’s a special attraction for the film, as she impressed both with her beauty and acting prowess. No doubt, Tollywood found another brilliant heroine. Rajeev Kanakala as the heroine’s father, Goparaju Ramana as the hero’s dad have impressed. Yogibabu is also good at generating laughs.
TECHNICIANS:
Even on the technical front, Couple Friendly is impressive. Dinesh Purushothaman’s cinematography stands out as he brings out a natural look by shooting in real locations. Aditya Raveendran’s music is a big plus for the film as his background score elevated scenes, and the songs felt exciting. UV Productions impressed with production quality again. Despite being a new director, Ashwin Chandrasekhar has maturely handled the love story, with a good grip on modern love equations. While narrating the film in a way that connects to youth, he never crossed the line with intimate scenes. Though there’s lag in the second half and cinematic liberties taken, he scores as a filmmaker.
Finally: Couple Friendly, A good love story!
Rating: 3/5