Love Mouli is a 2024 Telugu-language love story directed by Avaneendra. The film has Navdeep & Pankhuri Gidwani playing the lead roles while Rana Daggubati, Bhavana Sagi, Mirchi Hemanth, Charvi Dutta, Mirchi Kiran, Akshay Dogra & others are seen in important supporting roles. The music is composed by Govind Vasantha & Crishna YK and the film is produced by Prashanth Reddy T under C Space, Nyra Creations & Srikara Studio banners.
Story:
Mouli (Navdeep) is a free-spirited travel enthusiast & painter who is deeply intertwined with the worlds of travel & art. He hates people and is very close to nature rather than the society. Things change when Mouli encounters a mysterious girl (Pankhuri Gidwani) suddenly one day. Who is that girl? How did she change Mouli and his mindset? How will Mouli find the love of his life through his art form and spiritual enquiry, only to realise that his imagination is probably not aligned with reality? Forms the rest of the plot.
What about on-screen performances?
Navdeep comes up with one of his career-best performances in the film. He gets into the role with ease and looks the apt choice of being a biker and an artist. His physical transformation and hard work are clearly visible on screen and this is a good turnover for him to return back to playing more lead roles.
Pankhuri Gidwani is the surprise element of the film. She gets to play a meaty role and portrays all the different variations in her role with aplomb. Especially the way she pulled off the traditional girl and the cool drummer chick parts shows off her talent. The only issue with her role is her hair wigs which looked artificial in a few places.
Rana Daggubati leaves a mark in a special cameo as the Aghora.
Bhavana Sagi impresses in an important supporting role as Mouli’s manager. But her dubbing looks rushed and isn’t that good in a few scenes.
Mirchi Hemanth, Charvi Dutta, Mirchi Kiran, Akshay Dogra & others are neat in their limited supporting roles.
What about off-screen talents?
The story by Avaneendra is good. The key concept and the ideology that he wants to tell with this film is very relatable. But the way the whole fantasy element is blended with the backdrop could’ve been more convincingly done or told with a completely different hero characterization.
The screenplay is weak. Things go on a very slow pace and the poetic touch might not work well for everyone. There are some good well-written scenes and there are also a few half-baked scenes here and there. The whole double date scene and the scene where the heroine goes to meet the hero’s ex-girlfriend are a couple of examples of this. Also, the subplots are weakly written and do not have a proper impact.
Director Avaneendra does a brilliant job with his presentation. He picks up a very interesting line which is thought-provoking and relatable but he just does an average job of effectively narrating it through his scenes. The way he treated the second half and the climax is appreciable but the film needed a much better first half, especially after the agora scene till the interval.
The songs by Govind Vasantha are like a slow poison. They blend in with the film neatly and give the right vibe to the film. The Anthem of Love Mouli & The Vibe of Mouli songs are the best ones of the album. The background score by Crishna YK too is pretty good.
Special mention to the lyrics written by Anantha Sriram. They add good value to the songs and to the film. The line- “Yedhuraina pedhavedhaina, oka bhashe vinipinchena, Ye premaina oka bhavanne… palikena?” sums up the entire film.
Avaneendra’s cinematography is superb. The beauty of Meghalaya is captured beautifully and all the nature & travel shots are stunning on the big screen. Also, the team behind the location scouting deserves huge appreciation.
The edit by Avaneendra is not up to the mark. There are many abrupt and jump cuts with a few repeated shots as well.
The artwork in the film is excellent and the production values are adequate.
What’s Hot?
* The Anthem & The Vibe Of Mouli Songs
* Navdeep’s Performance
* Pankhuri Gidwani’s Performance
* Breathtaking Visuals
* Core Concept & Final Conclusion
* Soulful Music & Well Written Lyrics
What’s Not?
* Improper Blend Of The Concept & The Backdrop
* Slow Paced Narrative
* Editing & Few Abrupt Cuts
* Weak Sub Plots
* Underwhelming First Half
Verdict: Overall, Love Mouli is a half-baked decent romantic entertainer with good performances from Navdeep & Pankhuri. The different ideologies shown through men’s perspective will surely connect with today’s youth for both guys & girls but the narrative that drives to that final point makes it a middling experience.
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2/5