Aay is a 2024 Telugu language comedy film written and directed by Anji K Maniputhra. The film has Narne Nithiin & Nayan Sarika playing the lead roles while Ankith Koyya, Kasireddy Rajkumar, Vinod Kumar, Mime Gopi, Prabhavathi, Krishna Chaitanya, Ashok, Sarayu & others are seen in important supporting roles. The music is composed by Ram Miriyala & Ajay Arasada while the film is produced by Bunny Vas & Vidya Koppineedi under GA2 Pictures banner.
Story:
Karthik (Narne Nithiin) is a software engineer who returns from Hyderabad to his hometown, Pasarlapudilanka. He has 2 best friends in the village – Subbu (Kasireddy Rajkumar) and Hari (Ankith Koyya). One day Karthik watches Pallavi (Nayan Sarika), a young girl who is influenced by caste in her decisions, and falls in love with her. Pallavi also starts to have feelings for Karthik but she suddenly agrees to marry someone else, leaving Karthik confused. Why does Pallavi make this decision? How do Karthik and his friends react to this? What happens next in their love story needs to be seen in the film.
What about on-screen performances?
Narne Nithiin does a pretty okayish job with his performance in the film. After the huge success of ‘MAD’, he plays another youthful role but this time in a rural background. He has certainly shown some improvement with his acting and dialogue delivery but there is still a lot of scope for improvement overall.
Kasireddy Rajkumar is the show stealer in the film with his exceptional comedic timing and impressive body language. He creates a wave of laughter whenever he comes on screen and is the biggest asset of the film.
Ankith Koyya tries very hard to be funny but mostly overacts in almost every scene. His over-the-top expressions and weak body language do not go in favour of the film or his performance. A better actor was surely needed in this role.
Nayan Sarika is pretty decent in her part and impresses in the emotional portions. But her role and her character arc are very poorly written which lets her performance down.
Vinod Kumar as the hero’s father delivers a surprising and memorable performance during the climax but even his casting didn’t work in favour of the film’s overall result. A much more known actor could have handled the weight better.
Mime Gopi, Prabhavathi, Krishna Chaitanya, Ashok, Sarayu & others are okay in their limited roles.
What about off-screen talents?
The story by Anji K Maniputhra is very routine and lacks novelty. It is a simple love story between a couple from 2 different castes along with a regular friendship angle of the boys that offers nothing new on screen in terms of writing.
The screenplay too is poorly written with many convenient turns in the plot. If you expect a strong narrative, then this film is a big disappointment as the narrative is very plain. The film focuses more on dialogue comedy than on a compelling storyline which requires the viewers to set aside logic for enjoyment.
The first half is watchable with a few fun episodes between the friends over their girlfriend and aunty working well. The love track is unimpressive and the interval twist is not so effectively presented on screen and will leave us perplexed.
The second half is a big drawback with the pace dipping down with a few repetitive elements. Fortunately, the director compensates with an engaging pre-climax twist related to the father and a satisfying climax with a good message on the caste system, leaving audiences with a sense of contentment.
Director Anji K Maniputra does a pretty decent job with his presentation but his narrative has a few issues. Had he blended both the humour and the emotions with a good story, this film would have been a sure-shot hit.
The dialogues are fine. A few funny one-liners are well written while a few lines fall flat.
The camera work by Sameer Kalyani is adequate while the edit by Pawan Kalyan Kodati is fine.
The songs by Ram Miriyala & Ajay Arasada fail to register while the background score by Ajay Arasada is not up to the mark.
The production values by GA2 Pictures are good.
What’s Hot?
* Rajkumar Kasireddy’s Comedy
* A Couple Of Fun Episodes In The First Half
* Decent Climax Portions With Good Message
* Cinematography & Production Values
What’s Not?
* Simple & Predictable Story
* Convinenent Screenplay
* Too Many Flat Comedy Scenes
* Poor Background Score
* Forgettable Songs
* Weak Lead Characterizations
* Casting Of Few Actors
Verdict: Overall, Aay is a half-baked village comedy with a routine touch in its treatment. Except for a few comedy scenes here & there, there is nothing great to talk about in the film. Also the middling performances from the leads and with a few poor casting choices, the film ends up being an average affair.
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.5/5