‘Couple Friendly’ movie review: Santosh Soban, Manasa Varanasi’s romance drama is mature and heartfelt

Until the aboriginal 90s, Chennai (then Madras) served arsenic a communal backdrop for Telugu films. However, the consequent manufacture displacement to Hyderabad gradually altered the geographical canvas of its stories. Despite Chennai remaining a preferred destination for the Telugu assemblage successful adjacent regions of Andhra Pradesh for livelihood for years, modern-day filmmakers person seldom explored their enduring transportation with the metropolis done a modern lens.

Ashwin Chandrasekar’s directorial debut, Couple Friendly, offers a refreshing callback to Chennai, pursuing 2 20-somethings who determination from their hometowns to the metropolis to rebuild their lives connected their ain terms.

Siva (Santosh Soban) is stifled by his blimpish household successful Nellore portion struggling to marque a vocation successful interior design. His retired begetter exerts changeless unit connected him to find his footing. For a momentary escape, Siva shifts to Chennai for an internship. Meanwhile, Chittoor-based Mithra (Manasa Varanasi) is inactive awaiting her occupation connection missive successful Chennai and is adjacent to returning location to wed a antheral of her father’s choice.

In an improbable crook of events, Siva and Mithra crook roommates erstwhile their lives person deed stone bottom. Weathering a breakup, Siva has hardly paid his rent for months, staring into the abyss portion helium sleeps connected terraces astatine night, navigating loneliness and rejection connected a regular basis. An optimistic Mithra gives a caller absorption to his life, adjacent arsenic she tastes small luck with her ain career.

In the archetypal hour, the movie unfolds arsenic a emblematic slice-of-life romance, hardly prepping the assemblage for what comes next. The protagonists find solace successful each other’s institution arsenic their nonrecreational and idiosyncratic lives merge. The emotion communicative evolves done well-crafted situations. Siva and Mithra’s small nothings implicit calls, increasing intimacy portion residing successful the aforesaid room, are innovatively visualised.

The duo gradually navigates the highs and lows of a live-in relationship, changing priorities, which besides effect successful a fewer ego clashes. While the pb mates is rebellious successful their ain right, doing distant with societal norms, the movie efficaciously contrasts their romance with different unconventional narration — Prithi, a person of Mithra who falls for a overmuch older man.

Throughout, Couple Friendly neatly integrates Tamil into the dialog of the Telugu-speaking leads — a necessity for their endurance successful the city. The casting of Tamil actors Livingston and Yogi Babu further lends authenticity to the setting. The film’s chirpy, vibrant vibe extends into the aboriginal portions of the post-intermission agelong too, wherever the parental clashes instrumentality centre stage.

All of this changes with a drastic revelation that prompts a abrupt tonal displacement successful the storytelling, utilising a trope communal successful galore epic romances (including the caller Hindi movie Saiyaara). Though you stay unsure if a simple, intimate movie of this quality tin grip a dense crippled turn, the manager puts specified speculation to remainder with the sheer tenderness of the storytelling.

While an constituent of predictability sets successful during the last segments and the proceedings thin into melodrama, the minimalism successful the execution and the striking visuals much than marque up for it. The dialogues seldom spell overboard oregon overstates the obvious. The equation betwixt Siva and his brother, and his sister-in-law’s tryst with IVF, adds important worth to the narrative, subtly foreshadowing the events successful the couple’s lives.

Considerable effort goes into establishing Chennai arsenic an invisible witnesser to their journeys. Cinematographer Dinesh Purushothaman captures the metropolis done rain-soaked muddy streets, engaged roads, and fashionable landmarks without making them consciousness touristy, alongside panoramic views from the terraces, tracing the couple’s mundane realities.

Its free-spirited vibe is enhanced by Aditya Ravindran’s spectacular, breezy soundtrack. The medium features respective ballads, soothing melodies, complementing the story’s inward code and its changing contours done an eclectic premix of voices — Pradeep Kumar, Kapil Kapilan, Sanjith Hegde, Shakthishree Gopalan and Santhosh Narayanan, among a few.

The seamless blend of music, montages and dialogues contributes to the affluent sensory experience. Through Santosh Soban, you admit Siva’s gradual translation from a boyish younker to a liable man. The actor’s three-year-long hold for a worthy pb relation yet pays off, and you announcement however good helium has travel of property with the poise, the diction and his quality to clasp melodramatic scenes.

Manasa Varanasi is the yin to his yang, playing an ambitious modern miss with a quiescent spot — showcasing some Mithra’s resilience and vulnerabilities with an adept premix of assurance and innocence. Both leads stock a terrific on-screen camaraderie that brings a palpable believability to their companionship, a testament to the film’s mature narration dynamics.

Goparaju Ramana and Rajeev Kanakala grounds flair with the Nellore and Chittoor slangs, formed arsenic caring yet stubborn fathers who instrumentality clip to clasp change. Livingston and Yogi Babu battalion a punch with their little yet impactful cameos, portion Sriranjani is highly effectual arsenic a parent caught betwixt her hubby and daughter’s banter.

Couple Friendly whitethorn not boast a caller plot, but its communicative bushed is refreshingly mature and modern. It treats some its protagonists arsenic equals and values the minutiae of their lives arsenic good arsenic the large dreams. The cardinal to the film’s interaction is successful the timing of the cardinal struggle and the dignity with which it handles it.

Ashwin Chandrasekar’s movie proves it is imaginable to marque an engaging mainstream romance saga that speaks to the masses without diluting the story.