Pelli Choopulu shows how good romantic comedy can be

Pelli Choopulu starring Ritu Varma and Vijay Deverakonda has hit the jackpot. It’s happily counting away the dollars in the US and raking in the rupees in India. The film is not just a commercial success; all the critics have given this film a grand thumbs-up. The reason for this is its simple storyline.

There are no murders happening. There is no attempt at shoving messages down our throats. You can meet Tharun Bhascker’s characters in your neighborhood. If you come across a guy who wants to marry a girl because her father is paying him truckloads of money, you’ll probably stare at him like you’d stare at a dummy dinosaur in a museum, and try to put some wisdom into his rotten head.

I thought it would happen in Pelli Choopulu too, until I watched Ritu Varma’s portrayal of an urban Indian woman who dreams of becoming a businesswoman, come what may.

The leading woman in the movie wants to prove her worth in her family as her dad wanted a son (more than a daughter).

When the leading man casually refers to it, we see the pain she has gone through while growing up. The scene doesn’t wait to milk anymore emotions. It moves on pretty quickly. And, this is where the magic of storytelling lies. Imagine her state of mind if she falls short of her father’s expectations. That’s depressing in bold.

The woman and man are not shown as in indulging in the stereotypical coochie-cooing at all. But if you sit through the movie, you can feel the cool breeze of romance. Sekhar Kammula’s Anand had that quality. Raja didn’t get a chance to romance Kamalinee Mukherjee until the climax, yet the movie was filled with romantic calculations.

PC’s story also moves forward similarly. Ritu and Vijay understand each other better with every passing day. They are discovering themselves in a way. In Anand and in Pelli Choopulu, the women are quite clear about what they want and what they don’t want. It’s the men who act like juveniles.

The trailer has a seriously funny scene where Vijay’s father asks him to take chits to the exam hall because only then he’ll pass. What’s supposed to be a drilling scene becomes a hilarious one in less than a minute. Another magnificent father-son scene would be the one in which the son announces that he would like to try his hand at cooking.

The father’s comments on his son’s chosen line of work are something you’d have heard at least once (if you’re a graduate and you have no clue about your next phase of life).

The videos that go viral on YouTube are mocked at. A couple of months ago, I watched a video where a cat chased its own tail for a good two minutes. The number of views for that particular video shocked me. Of course, I watched the video. I helped the total count go up by one, but the fact is many videos are overrated.

The filmmaker himself has made short films before, so, he knows the bright side and the dull side of YouTube.  

Every gang has a person like Priyadarshi. He is constantly breaking into punch dialogues and finding time to ridicule others. He’s not your regular supporting actor.

Whenever he is on-screen though, he has a straight face, and mouths corny lines. While big guns such as Brahmotsavam and Sardaar Gabbar Singh failed to do the talking at the box office earlier this year, here’s a film brimming with honesty and wonderment.

If the world’s a romantic comedy, I’d trust Kaushik to have my back, and Ritu to guide me.