Review: 'Vennela 1 1/2'- an endless torture

The best way to describe 'Vennela 1 1/2' is 'sheer two and half hours torture'. Called a sequel to Deva Katta's 'Vennela', the film is nowhere near to the humour that Katta's film generated.

Kishore's sequel is an assault on the audience and is a tragedy of events that one by one neither makes sense nor breaks the shackles.

Khadar (Vennela Kishore) and Sunil (Madhu), principal characters in 'Vennela', leave to Thailand for six months to pursue their education on the order of their principal.

There they encounter Yuvak (Harish), a short filmmaker/part-time call centre employee. Both Khadar and Sunil take potshots at Yuvak who calls his friend Krishna Krishna (Krishna Chaitanya) to his rescue.

What started as a rescue mission soon turns into a mission friendship. Meanwhile, Krishna Krishna falls in love with Vennela (Monal Gajjar), a rich girl who leaves her booming career to pursue higher education.

But Vennela is already engaged to the muscular Sravan (Sravan), a software engineer, on the insistence of her deceased mother.

KK puts on his thinking cap and somehow manages to win the heart of Vennela by deceiving Sravan in the mask of a love guru.

About to express her love towards KK, Vennela comes to know that KK is the guy who is sent by her wealthy father to break her relationship with Sravan. The rest of the story is how KK wins back the love of Vennela?

First things first, Kishore has nothing new to offer to the palate of viewers in terms of content.

He realises this and knows that he can only succeed in generating the comedy, the age old tradition when it comes to Telugu cinema- Entertainment always pays.

He gets proven entities- Brahmanandam, Raghu Babu, Giridhar, Prithvi Raj, Thagobothu Ramesh and Master Bharath on board, but fails up right down to extract what they are known for.

The result is a show which is more of a forceful comedy than the comedy that comes from writing, matched by an actor's timing. Double meaning innuendos and bathroom humour are in hordes in this mindless drama.

For a script which is all over the picturesque locations of in and around Patayya, (An exception at RFC), Kishore who having worked with the likes of Sreenu Vaitla and Trivikram Srinivas, also fails to create a single moment in the film that can stand out- such is the sad state of 'Vennela 1 ''.

The less we talk about it the better we are far away from an aspirin, though you haven't watched the film yet. And the live-interval concept that Kishore introduced for the first time on Indian screens fizzles out.

Performance wise, none of the stars inspire confidence. The central characters who were trying too hard to dish out comedy only to go over-board can visit DVD stores to purchase watch old classic comedies.

Monal Gajjar should breathe a sigh of relief as this film of hers which is her debut hit the screens after 'Sudigadu'.

Summing up, this Vennela is not a pleasant one to have a glimpse even though you had a romantic evening.

Watching the film one would be eager to ask Kishore (just like Thagobothu Ramesh in a promotional interview of the film) why did he opt to turn director when his acting career was on the right track?