MAD Review: Happy Days 2.0 With More Fun

MAD is a 2023 Telugu-language comedy film which is written and directed by Kalyan Shankar. The film stars Narne Nithin, Sangeeth Shobhan, Ram Nithin, Sri Gouri Priya Reddy, Ananathika Sanilkumar & Gopikaa Udyan in lead roles along with Raghu Babu, Racha Ravi, Muralidhar Goud, Vishnu Oi, Anthony, Srikanth Reddy, Charan, Raghuram & others in key supporting roles. The music is composed by Bheems Ceciroleo and the film is produced by Haarika Suryadevara & Sai Soujanya under Sithara Entertainments & Fortune Four Cinemas banner.

Story:

Manoj, Ashok, and Damodhar are three freshers who join RIE Engineering College. How do they become best friends during their 4 years of stay in the college, how do they form their MAD group, what all silly things do they do in the college and how will the three ultimately find their true love interests? Needs to be witnessed in the theatres.

What about on-screen performances?

Sangeeth Shobhan is the pick among the actors. He is very impressive as Damodhar aka DD and is one of the major pillars of the film with his impeccable comedy timing. All his scenes will surely bring the auditorium down with laughter, especially in his Vennela track towards the end.

Narne Nithin makes a decent debut and he gives out a settled performance as Ashok. His role has a few elevation scenes and he does pull them out neatly.

Ram Nithin is excellent as Manoj. He also impresses with his comic timing and ably supports Sangeeth Shobhan & Narne Nithin as their common best friend.

Sri Gouri Priya Reddy, Ananathika Sanilkumar & Gopikaa Udyan do a pretty good job as the love interests of the three male leads. All three have good screen presence and their love tracks with their respective heroes are well handled.

Vishnu Oi is another common friend of the 3 leads who narrates the whole film and is hilarious in his role as Laddu. He shines with his monologue that comes after the interval.

Raghu Babu, Muralidhar Goud, Anthony, Srikanth Reddy, Charan & Raghuram also contribute to the comedy scenes with their neat performances in their limited supporting roles.

Anudeep KV is seen in a special cameo but is limited to a single scene only. It could have been good if there was more of him.

What about off-screen talents?

The story by Kalyan Shankar is youthful and very entertaining. The story of 3 friends in a college with comedy, friendship, love & drama is always a hit formula and this film manages to present everything related to college with respect to today’s trends & culture in a neat manner. It will surely reach out to all the target audiences and will also connect with every person who has a crazy college life.

The screenplay by Kalyan Shankar, Praveen Pattu & Pranay Rao Takkallapalli is well written. They make sure that the narrative is filled with hilarious comedy scenes and they succeed in providing wholesome entertainment throughout the film.

Director Kalyan Shankar does a brilliant job with his presentation. He sets the mood of the film right and continues to maintain the fun throughout the film. The way he handles a few emotional and love scenes in between the fun parts also deserves credit as they do not look out of place.

The dialogues are witty and all the funny one lines are very well written. All the comedy lines manage to tickle the funny bones of the audiences big time in theatres.

The cinematography by Shamdat & Dinesh Krishnan B is top-notch. The way they showcase all the college scenes and hostel episodes is appreciable. Their framing also looks too good on screen.

Songs by Bheems Ceciroleo are foot-tapping. College Papa & Nuvvu Navvukuntu songs are the best ones of the album while the rest 2 songs are also fine. His background score is neat and goes well with the flow of the film.

The edit by Navin Nooli is crisp and he makes sure that the film is never slow at any point.

The production values by Sithara Entertainments & Fortune Four Cinemas are grand.

What’s Hot?

* Sangeeth Shobhan’s Performance & Comedy Timing
* Narne Nithin & Ram Nithin’s Performances
* Entertainment All Through The Film
* Well Written Youthfull Elements
* Good Love Stories & Decent Character Arcs
* College Papa & Nuvvu Navvukuntu Songs
* Cinematography & Background Score
* First Rate Production Values

What’s Not?

* Unnecessary Elevation Scenes
* Few Repetitive Portions

Verdict: Overall MAD is one of the maddest films of this year and will surely make the audience jump in laughter in the theatres. It is like watching ‘Happy Days’ once again but with a modern touch and with a double dose of entertainment. Must watch film for sure!!

Telugubulletin.com Rating: 3/5