True Lover is a Telugu dubbed romantic drama film written and directed by Prabhuram Vyas. The film stars Manikandan & Sri Gouri Priya in lead roles while Kanna Ravi, Saravanan, Geetha Kailasam, Harish Kumar, Nikhila Shankar, Harini S, Pintu Pandu, Arunachaleshwaran & others are seen in important supporting roles. The music is composed by Sean Roldan and the film is produced by Nazerath Pasilian, Magesh Raj Pasilian & Yuvaraj Ganesan under Million Dollar Studios & MRP Entertainment banners. The film is presented in Telugu by Maruthi & SKN under Maruti Team Product & Mass Movie Makers.
Story:
Arun (Manikandan) and Divya (Sri Gouri Priya) are a couple who have been in a relationship for over six years. But as time goes by, the relationship hits a roadblock after a guy named Madhan (Kanna Ravi) joins Divya’s office, and the couple face numerous misunderstandings, leading to an uncertain future together. Will they stay together after all the issues or do they part ways? Needs to be seen in the film.
What about on-screen performances?
Manikandan delivers a fantastic performance and looks perfect as the selfish, male chauvinist Arun. His transformation from a sympathetic figure to a deeply flawed individual is both heartbreaking and compelling to watch. He slowly is turning out to be one of the bankable young actors in the Tamil film industry with some unique choices.
Sri Gouri Priya shines in her role as Divya. She portrays the pain and inner turmoil of her character in a realistic way. She is fine in the romantic portions and she is too good in the emotional parts as well.
Kanna Ravi as the heroine’s colleague comes up with an earnest performance that elevates his character neatly. His character could have easily become the most hated one in the film but the director cleverly turns it into a sensible part.
Geetha Kailasam & Saravanan as the hero’s parents are pretty decent in their parts.
Harish Kumar, Nikhila Shankar & Harini S are amazing in their limited roles as the heroine’s friends.
Pintu Pandu, Arunachaleshwaran & the rest of the cast are good in their respective supporting roles.
What about off-screen talents?
The story by Prabhuram Vyas is pretty decent. It tells the love life hurdles between a possessive boyfriend and a girlfriend seeking independence. It is a mixture of love, emotion, sentiment, possessiveness, anger & realisation and will connect with today’s youth big time. A few scenes will definitely remind you of your love stories in your teenage and will give an undercurrent message that the partner shouldn’t restrict the other in the name of possessiveness.
The screenplay however is not up to the mark. Almost about half an hour of the runtime is repetitive and more effort could have been made to avoid that. The core conflict is universally relatable but more drama could been exploited with the same conflict which is a missed opportunity.
The story remains stagnant all through the first half until the midpoint. It is the interval scene that raises interest neatly. The second half too has an equal number of entertaining scenes as well few boring scenes as well. It keeps us wondering when will they resolve their differences or part ways permanently. The climax looks to be stretched out unwatedly but the film ends in a very realistic manner which is good.
Director Prabhuram Vyas’s presentation is neat. To give due credit, he has handled a few scenes with aplomb while he handles a few in a very half-baked manner. Had he added a bit more engaging drama by cutting off those repetitive scenes, the film would have been another cult love story.
The Telugu dialogues by Rakendu Mouli are poignant and relatable. All the conversations look like how we talk to our partners in our daily lives.
The cinematography by Shreyaas Krishna is amazing while the editing by Barath Vikraman is mediocre. There are too many repetitive scenes that bring down the interest of the audience which could have been avoided in the edit.
The songs by Sean Roldan are forgettable. None of the songs in Telugu register with us as we leave the theatres. But Sean Roldan’s background score is excellent. He definitely lifted a few scenes with his score.
The production values by Million Dollar Studios & MRP Entertainment are adequate.
What’s Hot?
* Manikandan’s Performance
* Sri Gouri Priya’s Performance
* Realistic Approach Of Few Scenes
* Cinematography & Production Values
* Simple Yet Satisfying Climax
* Interval & Gokarna Episodes
What’s Not?
* Too Many Repetitive Scenes
* Slow Paced Narrative
* Few Unnecesary Songs
* Drama Could Have Been Enhanced
* Underutilised Conflict Points
* Dragged Out Pre Climax Portions
Verdict: On the whole, True Lover is a well-intentioned realistic love story that resonates with today’s youth. The slow-paced narrative and too many repetitive scenes do play spoilsport at times, but the performances and the situations keep us engrossed with the proceedings. A decent watch!!
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.75/5