Guvva Gorinka Review – An Extended short film

The Covid-19 related lockdown period served young actor Satya Dev pretty well as he had multiple direct to digital releases in the last 6 months or so. Thanks to the attention he has garnered, the makers of Guvva Gorinka, which has been under the wraps for a few years now have released the film on Amazon Prime Video. The film was completed in 2017 and it finally managed to see the limelight now. Here is our review of the film.

Story:

Sirisha (Priya Lal) has a special liking towards music and pursues Master’s in violin. Incidentally, Sadanand (Satya Dev) who literally hates sound or any kind of noise for that matter moves to a flat that is right next to Sirisha’s. Despite not seeing each other, the duo often quarrel with each other. Eventually they develop feelings and this leads to friendship. Later, Sadanand comes to know that Sirisha had agreed to marry the person picked by her father and he distances himself from her. The rest of the story unveils how Sirisha, and Sadanand who developed feelings without meeting meeting each other overcome a big hurdle.

What about on-screen performances?

This film was shot roughly 3 years ago but Satya Dev delivered a fine performance. He portrays the emotions which are essential for a love story with great ease. Newcomer Priya Lal os right up there when it comes to expressing subtle emotions. The lead pair has carried the feel and vibe of the film quite well. Rahul Ramakrishna and Priyadarshi evoke a few laughs here and there.

What about off-screen talents?

Art direction deserves a special mention as majority of the film was shot in a single flat. Art director Sambasiva Rao’s work is commendable as he designed the flat in an aesthetic manner. Rangaswamy’s cinematography is another asset to the film. Suresh Bobbili elevated the feel in a few love scenes with his background score. Editing should have been much better.

The director, Mohan Bommidi picked a story that would better suit a 30-minute short film. He tried to narrate this simple story for 2 long hours and that gives an impression that the film has been stretched beyond its threshold. The viewer gets this feeling in the first 20 minutes itself. He does succeed in extracting the best out of his lead actors but fails to present his story in a gripping manner. Dialogues could have been better. Slow-paced screenplay is another major drawback. It is shown that the male lead character hates sound but this particular aspect was not established properly.

What’s Hot?

Satya Dev and Priya Lal’s performance
Suresh Bobbili’s music

What’s Not?

Routine Love track
Boring screenplay
No emotional connect
Lengthy run-time
Lack of comical elements
Weak direction

Verdict:

Guvva Gorinka is a title that perfectly suits the theme and the set-up of the film, but sadly this is one of the very few things that fell in the right place for the Satya Dev starrer. The film is technically sound but the boring screenplay and narrative take a toll on the flow of the proceedings. A story that would make for a good short film has been extended beyond its premise to suit a 2-hour long film and this is where things go wrong. The lead pair deliver an impressive performance but their good work goes in vein.

Watch or not?: You can comfortably skip watching this strictly mediocre love drama.

TeluguBulletin.com Rating: 1/5