Credits
Punchline: love, sex, mms, abortion, facebook friendship, dhoka & murder
Genre: Crime/Romance
Type: Straight
Banner: Sravya Films
Cast: Manoj Nandam, Sai Anil, Gayatri, Divya Swapna, Bobby
Music: Praveen Immadi
Cinematography: Sabu James
Story - screenplay - direction: P Suneel Kumar Reddy
Producer: Yekkali Ravindra Babu
Release date: 15 June 2012
Review
There are three girls who meet regularly at a bus-stop while alighting bus to their schools/colleges. Tanmayi (Gayatri) is doing 10th class, Anjali (Divya Swapna) is doing her +2 and Veena (Bobby) is doing her engineering. Tanmayi is from a lower middle class. Anjali is from a rich family but parents are too busy to give her time/affection. Veena is from a middle class. Veena girl falls in love with a dubious guy Kiran (Sai Anil) who calls himself as a ‘short filmmaker’, secretly shoots live sex scenes and blackmails them. Tanmayi falls in love with Sanjay (Manoj Nandam). He really loves her and can do anything for her. He turns into a chain-snatcher and then into a murderer for her. The rest of the story is all about how things go wrong and what they learn in their lives.
Most of the cast in this film is new. Hence you see characters. Though a few of them are amateurish, it adds freshness. Manoj Nandam gets the major portion in the film and he justifies. Divya Swapna looks beautiful among female leads and Bobby does well in acting department.
Director Sunil Kumar Reddy has always been selecting good and socially relevant subjects, but has been failing with uninteresting narration (Prayatnam and Sontha Vooru, for example). This subject is interesting and contemporary. Since it deals with teenage and adolescence, there are certain scenes and dialogues that are titillating (one girl asking another girl: share auto lo baga massage cheyinchukunnava, 10th class girl keeping a bun in bra and looking at mirror etc). The director has chosen a taboo subject in Telugu cinema which deals stuff like teenage sex, teenage abortions and sex mms. Some of the scenes in the film are bland (especially abortion by RMP doctor). The justification given for the killer to become one is not strongly established (about why he hates system and his justification for 8 killings). Sunil Reddy didn’t get it right in this film.
This film is shot with digital camera. They might have used handheld camera (may be Canon 5D) in certain scenes like bike chases. Dialogues are realistic and raw at times. Cinematography is adequate. They used graphics in songs which are completely unnecessary. The songs in this film disturbs the narration as there is no need. Music is okay.
Oka Romantic Crime Story subject is made with good intent. But the rawness in narration and uninteresting screenplay make you uncomfortable. The only difference between the films directed by Sunil Kumar Reddy in the past and this film is sex. There is nothing wrong in taking up taboo subjects. But one should narrate it in a mellowed and interesting way to make people appreciate it.