Movie: Maama Mascheendra
Rating: 1/5
Banner: Sree Venkateswara Cinemas LLP
Cast: Sudheer Babu, Eesha Rebba, Mirnalini Ravi, Harsha Vardhan, Ali reza, Rajeev Kanakala, Hariteja, Ajay, Mirchi Kiran, and others
Music: Chaitan Bharadwaj
DOP: PG Vinda
Editor: Marthand K Venkatesh
Action: Peter Hein
Production Designer: Rajeev Nair
Producers: Suniel Narang, Puskur RamMohan Rao
Written and Directed by: Harsha Vardhan
Release Date: Sep 29, 2023
The main reason "Maama Mascheendra" sparked interest was Sudheer Babu playing three different roles.
Let’s see its merits and demerits.
Story:
Parasuram (Sudheer Babu) has a painful past. His sister, brother-in-law, and their twin sons are his target, and he orders his buddy Dasu (Harshavardhan) to kill them. But somehow the twins escape death.
Parasuram, fearing for his life, agrees to swap daughters with Dasu.
Decades later, Visalakshi (Esha Rebba), Parasuram's daughter, falls for Durga (Sudheer Babu), a thug from Vizag. Meenakshi (Mrinalini Ravi), Dasu's daughter, falls for a DJ (the other twin, Sudheer Babu).
Parasuram is worried that his nephew has set up a trap for his daughter in an attempt to exact revenge on him.
Has Duraga or DJ, as Parasuram suspected, ensnared these girls in the name of love?
Artistes’ Performances:
Sudheer Babu is seen in three different getups. He also takes on both negative and positive roles. While he varies his roles as fat guy and evil uncle, the other character DJ is typical of Sudheer Babu.
Eesha Rebba and Mirnalini Ravi appear as heroines but are given little screen time. Ali Reza is good. Harsha Vardhan is okay.
Technical Excellence:
The film has decent technical and production values. The music, however, is lacklustre. PG Vinda’s cinematography is effective.
Highlights:
One twist
Drawback:
Screenplay and direction
Twists for the sake of it
Music
Analysis
The story of "Maama Mascheendra" begins in an intriguing manner. It holds our attention for 15 minutes. But the initial engagement quickly fades after the setup. Everything goes downhill from here.
Parasuram reads two different diaries, and scenes unfold as he reads. However, the sequences are nothing more than the usual romance, songs, and action stunts. There are also some unexpected twists and turns. It leaves us befuddled and bored until we reach the intermission. The interval bang concludes with one intriguing fact about twins.
In the second half, there are more twists about twins. After a point, Harsha Vardhan's narration leaves us frustrated. Because he establishes one character at one point, and the following sequence reveals that the character is not real, but imaginary.
The process of determining which is real and which is imaginary is similar to that of a puzzle. Instead of forcing us to solve the puzzle, Harsha Vardhan's narration directs us to the exit door.
Let us take the main character Parasuram (played by Sudheer Babu) as an example of the confusion. The character is introduced as a victim who has lost his mother. As the film progresses, he becomes the antagonist. There is a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding all of the characters.
Everything happens for the purpose of adding a twist. Every character, including Shakalaka Shankar, who plays an RGV-like role, speaks in an ambiguous manner.
The outcome would have been different if Harshavardhan had written a more lucid screenplay and kept the twists and turns to a minimum. But in attempting to present the film in a different manner, he became confused and turned it into a mess.
Overall, “Maama Mascheendra” is an aimless and pointless exercise that bores us completely.
Bottom line: Endidi Mama!