'Love Me' Movie Review
Cast: Ashish Reddy, Vaishnavi Chaitanya, Ravi Krishna, Simran Choudhary, Rajeev Kanakala and others.
Music: MM Keeravani
Cinematography: PC Sreeram
Producer: Harshith – Hansitha – Nag Mallidi
Writer - Director: Arun Bhimavarapu
Ashish Reddy, who made his debut with 'Rowdy Boys' is now arriving with a complete horror thriller. Hailing from Dil Raju's family, Ashish Reddy is aiming to score a hit with 'Love Me'. 'Baby' fame Vaishnavi Chaitanya is the heroine while Arun Bhimavarapu is making his debut as a director. The promotional content has been impressive and with music from MM Keeravani, the film has arrived in theatres today. Let us see how the film turned out.
Story:
In an area between Andhra and Karnataka, everyone talks about Divyavathi, the ghost who lives in an old apartment. No one goes near that building and people who tried to go inside ended up being dead. At this time Arjun (Ashish) who is a YouTuber that doesn't believe in superstitions and ghosts enter the apartment. He tries to become friends with the ghost. He grows closer to Divyavathi and starts having a conversation. But his friend proves that she is dead but Arjun doesn't accept that fact. He is adamant on trying to know more about the girl. What situations did he find himself in? What is the story of this ghost? All these questions will be answered in the movie.
Analysis:
The director and producers can be very intelligent. They may come up with a huge track record and brilliant ideas. But you need to convey it clearly to the public which is the most important aspect of filmmaking. Movies become disasters if the director and the audience are not on the same wavelength. '1 Nenokkadine' is the best example. It is a cult movie now but people who actually watched it in theatres left scratching their heads. This is not us comparing 'Love Me' with a classic like 'Nenokkadine'. But the confusion dose in 'Love Me' is even bigger. The director's hard work is on full display and he has tried to do something that will be a unique idea on paper but doesn't get translated on the screen. People start to wonder if the some characters are really necessary in the movie or not.
The different setup and the curiosity to watch it till the end is what keeps the audience invested. Even the things revealed that end were quite unconvincing. The love angle between the hero and the ghost is the biggest draw of the movie. People wanted to watch that uniqueness. The starting few scenes instill fear among the viewers. The horror elements surprise you but the director failed to continue with the same grip on the film. The visuals and songs are quite spooky but the scenes lack strength. The lunch and dinner dates with ghost are quite weird. They are not convincing at all. Hero believes that the girl is not a ghost and dances with her. He doesn't have believe what others say and claims that she is a real girl. But doesn't he really know about the girl who he shared a bed with? There are a lot of questions like this that stay in people's minds while watching this movie. The first half has way fewer chilling moments.
The second half has fewer horror parts but becomes a thriller. Hero decides to find out more about the girl he loves. There is a lot happening on the screen and people talk a lot as well. This leads to many new things coming out but it is tough to get a hold on where this film is leading to. The twist to the ghost character doesn't thrill you but makes you laugh at the silliness. Though the idea of the director is quite crazy, he failed to execute it well on the screen. The undigestible heroine character disappoints big time in 'Love Me'. It ends up being one of the most confusing film in Tollywood and the heroine becomes the most unconvincing character. 'Love Me' ends up being a silly attempt in the name of uniqueness.
Performances:
After impressing as a funky college guy in 'Rowdy Bous', he looked more composed, calm and intense in 'Love Me'. He did a decent job and his screen presence is quite good. He has a certain confidence that works in his favour. Vaishnavi Chaitanya did well in a key character. He gets a completely different character to what she did in 'Baby'. She appears like a normal girl throughout but shocks the audience at the end. She proved her mettle once again. Ravi Krishna did a good job as well. Simran as Skull Artist is just okay as she overdid a few scenes. Rajeev Kanakala and the rest of the actors are decent.
Technicians:
There are a lot of big names who worked on this movie. But they did not deliver at that level. Keeravani's songs go smoothly but none of them have a repeat value. The background score suited the mood of the movie. The visuals are fine but the name PC Sreeram commands more brilliance. Dil Rjau & Co spent well on the movie. Writer-director Arun Bhimavarapu tried to handle a crazy script. His talent can be seen and his hard work is quite visible. But he failed to make it understandable to the people. The characters are not etched properly. People don't understand how Dil Raju okayed it when he heard the script or while making the film.
Verdict: Love Me – New Story But Leaves A Lot of Confusion!
Rating: 2/5