‘Kushi’ movie review: A soothing rom-com

“Kushi,” the latest Telugu film that revolves around the story of a married couple, Viplav and Aradhya, played by Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, respectively. The movie is made under the direction of Shiva Nirvana, who is known to make love stories that touch hearts. This time as well, he is back with an entertaining love story. Besides a beautiful love story, Kushi also shows the difficulties faced by the couple, as seen in the trailer. The film released in theatres today and let’s see how it fares at box-office.

Story

Viplav (Vijay Deverakonda,) is a BSNL employee and the son of Lenin Satyam who does not believe in god. Viplav is transferred to Kashmir where he meets Aara (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) who introduces herself as a Muslim. However, she is a Brahmin whose father truly believes in god and astrology. They fall in love and plan to get married which their families oppose. Nonetheless they marry against the wishes of their family. Once they start their marital life they face a lot of ups and downs and how they face them is the main crux of the story.

Analysis

The film doesn’t deal with any out-of-the-box concept, but it is about the common and petty issues faced by people in their relationships. This has been showcased in a light-hearted manner in the second half. The conflict point is nicely showcased.

All the scenes that come between the lead pair in the latter hour will go well with family audiences and this is where the film shines. The scenes aren’t new, but they are presented in a convincing manner. The fun is decent, and the emotions in the latter hour came out well.

The biggest drawback of the film is it becomes predictable after a point in time, and this bogs down the impact to an extent. As one can guess what would happen next, the movie becomes slightly underwhelming at times.

The lengthy runtime also makes us feel bored in some cases. Especially the Kashmir portions are a bit prolonged, and this could have been taken care of. The momentum is not that great in the first half, and the film gets into the right track from the pre- interval scene. During the promotions, director Shiva Nirvana mentioned that the film deals with a sensitive issue, but this aspect isn’t new and reminds us of a few films.

On the whole, “Kushi” is a likeable rom-com with a neat second half. The main point of the film unfolds in the latter hour, which is packed with good drama and emotions. Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha are adorable, and they are well-supported by other artists. Shiva Nirvana delivers a film that is relatable to family audiences. Hence, “Kushi” ends up being a good watch.

Performances

Vijay Deverakonda is charming as usual in his role of Viplav. He isn’t portrayed as the usual commercial hero fighting off the antagonists. Vijay is seen as the usual boy next door helping out the female lead Aradhya (Samantha) and falling in love with her in the process. Vijay as a husband is so realistic that the couple seemingly looked very real. So, this has been one of their films with very good pairing and chemistry.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu, on the other hand is very beautiful in this film in both her looks in Kashmir and after their marriage. The way she carried her emotions and love in the film have lifted her role. Amidst a few intense and action roles, Samantha appeared as Aradhya in this light hearted rom-com.

All the extended cast of the film like Sharanya, Murali Sharma, Rohini, Sharanya Pradeep, Sachin Khedekar, and Rahul Ramakrishna carried their roles pretty well by performing what they had to as demanded by the script.

Technicalities

Shiva Nirvana once again proved that narrating love stories is his strong suit. His narration and visualisation of this film were perfectly executed. It came out as a beautiful and magical love story which the audience will remember just like his previous ones. He has always narrated unconventional love stories and this film is no exception.

The songs and background score played an important role in leading the film. Hesham Abdul Wahab, has provided great music which audiences have loved even before the release. However, witnessing the songs on screen with the story elevated the feel of it. Editing could have been much better so that it creates more impact on film. As discussed, the lengthy run-time is one of the biggest drawbacks of the film. Cinematography is good and the production values by the Mythri Movie Makers were great with the top notch locations.

Advantages

Chemistry between lead pair

Songs

Locations

Drawbacks

Lengthy run-time

Predictable