Annapurna Photo Studio Review- An Average 80’s Drama

Annapurna Photo Studio is a Telugu language comedy drama which is written & directed by Chendu Muddu of ‘O Pitta Katha’ fame. The film has Chaitanya Rao Madadi & Lavanya Sahukara playing the lead roles while Lalith Adithya, Viva Raghava, Uttara Reddy, Mihirah Gurupadappa, Yash Rangineni, Vasu Inturi, Krishna Mohan, Ramana & others are seen in important supporting roles. The music is composed by Prince Henry and the film is produced by Yash Rangineni under Big Ben Cinemas banner. The film is being distributed by Tollywood’s leading production house- Suresh Productions.

Story:

This movie tells a love story set in a rural area during the 1980s. Chanti (Chaitanya Rao Madadi) is a videographer who lives in a village named Kapileswarapuram. He opens a photo studio and names it after his mother, Annapurna Photo Studio. Chanti is is love with Gowthami (Lavanya Sahukara). Everything goes fine in his life until one day Chanti & his friend Prasad (Lalith Adithya), notice a goon chasing a girl and attempt to save her, but Chanti accidentally kills the goon. A witness to the murder blackmails Chanti and forces him to murder a girl named Sindhu (Mihirah Gurupadappa). Who is the witness? Will Chanti murder Sindhu? The film has all the answers.

What about on-screen performances?

Chaitanya Madadi does a neat job in the film as Chanti. To be precise, he repeats a ’30 Weds 21′ kind of a role once again, this time in a village backdrop. His comedy timing in a few scenes is impressive and he shows good variations whenever possible.

Lavannya Sahukara is an apt choice for the village belly role and she plays the hero’s love interest with good conviction.

Lalith Adithya as the hero’s best friend and Uttara Reddy as the hero’s sister leave a mark in their important supporting roles.

Viva Raghav brings in a few laughs whenever he comes on screen as Pandu.

Yash Rangineni is just about okay as the typical 80’s villain.

Mihirah Gurupadappa looks beautiful and is fine in her role as the city girl who comes to the village. But her character needed more screen time as her subplot with Yash Rangineni is not up to the mark.

Krishna Mohan, Vasu Inturi. Ramana and the rest of the supporting cast are okay in their limited parts.

What about off-screen talents?

The story by Chendu Muddu has nothing novel to offer with a wafer-thin storyline. Except for taking the 80’s backdrop and a few neat comedy bits here & there, the film isn’t as entertaining as it had to be.

The screenplay is middling. The way the story changes its genre from comedy in the first half to a murder mystery in the latter is not so convincing and could have been done way better. Also, all the characterizations look routine and the writing lacks freshness.

Chendu Muddu’s direction has its share of ups & downs. He handled the comedy scenes and the climax twist in a decent manner, but his narrative didn’t have the engaging factor that was required for a plot like this. The idea of narrating the whole story through a suicide note is a silly idea and the conflicts in the film should have been properly established.

The dialogues are okay. The funny one-liners in the fun portions are good.

The songs by Prince Henry are excellent and his background score is also neat. The music gels well with the time period in which the story is set up. The Rangamma song is the pick of the album.

The camerawork by Pankaj Tottada is first-rate. He captures the village atmosphere perfectly.

The edit by D Venkata Prabhu is mediocre. There are jump cuts that looked odd at times and the run time could have been a lot crisper.

The production values by Big Ben Cinemas are adequate.

What’s Hot?

* Chaitanya Rao’s Performance
* Comedy In The First Half
* Rangamma Song
* Decent Climax
* Cinematography & Production Values

What’s Not?

* Thin Plot Line & Weak Screenplay
* Unconvincing Narrative
* Lag In The Second Half
* Predictable Twists
* Editing
* Dubbing Of A Few Supporting Artists

Verdict: Overall, Annapurna Photo Studio is an average 80’s village drama with some clean comedy in the first half and an underwhelming second half with half-baked thriller elements. Can give it a try when it comes on a streaming platform.

Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.25/5