‘Lingoccha’ Review: Hyderabadi at heart

Young actor Karthika Ratnam, of C/O Kancherapalam and Narappa fame, has made quite the name for himself with his performances in rural dramas and has now come up with his latest film Lingoccha, which has been released today. Let us see how the film has turned out to be upon release.

Story:

Shiva (Karthik Ratnam) comes from a Nayi Brahmin family in the Old Town of Hyderabad. Shiva, who is well-known for his impeccable hair-do skills, falls in love with Noor Jahan (Supyardee Singh) while playing Lingoccha (seven Stones) with his friends as a child. He continues to love her into his teens and adulthood.

Meanwhile, Noor Jahan is forcibly sent to Dubai by her orthodox father. Leaving India as a medico, Noor returns to India after a milestone in her academic journey. Meanwhile, Shiva follows the sincere advice of his friends and fools around Noor. One day, Noor comes to know what is going on in Shiva’s mind. Her father finds out about their love affair and fixes a match. Noor and Shiva now make a series of decisions that turn out to be shocking.

On-Screen Performances:

Karthik Ratnam is an experienced theater artist who gets into the skin of his character in this film. He carries the story with a single-minded focus. This definitely helps bring his character out in the best possible way.

Heroine Supyardee Singh is also quite good in her role, and has managed to impress everyone with her cuteness and authentic Muslim girl looks. The acting and expressions are well done, making her entire character arc believable.

The remaining supporting cast, including Thagubothu Ramesh and Uttej, do not have a lot to do, but are seen as reliable narrators, and have also done their parts decently.

Off-Screen Talents:

The backdrop chosen by director Anand Bada is impressive. It has been a long time since we have seen an out-and-out Hyderabadi love story, set in the very famous old city. The director scores marks with the way he stages the story. He also extracts the right performance meter from his artists. The music by Because Raj is good. Having said that, the main problem of the film is its pacing, because of which the second half of the film feels like a complete drag. Moreover, the climax of the film doesn’t have much of an emotional impact because the lead-up to it between our leads was not handled properly.

The editing of ‘Lingoccha’ is just okay, but could have been so much better. The cinematography of the film is quite good, with every frame perfectly showing the beauty of old city. The production design of the film is impressive, with locations in the Old City having been chosen with care. The artwork of the film is also quite good. The dialogues stand out as the highlight. All in all, the technical department has done a neat job.

Plus Points:

• Main lead performance
• Hyderabadi nativity
• Music and background score

Minus Points:

• Loud comedy
• Lag in the second half
• Unimpactful climax

Verdict: ‘Lingochcha’ is a true-blue Hyderabadi film that captures the Hyderabadi spirit and flavor the way ‘Hyderabadi Nawabs’ and ‘Angrez’ did. It can be watched just once.

Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.5/5