Chammak Challo

Story: Two college students Shyam (Varun) and Anshu (Sanchita) bond over an outdoor field trip and their friendship turns into love gradually and they get engaged. Shyam moves to Bangaloore for work and he gets close to his hot boss, Sunaina (Catherine). Anshu calls off the wedding despite Shyam’s best efforts to make up.

Movie Review: It’s another “realistic romantic caper” that cracks jokes about the predominant clichés of romance in Telugu cinema, despite having nothing new to offer – we’re not counting the two debutante heroines and one padding artiste – in terms of content or packaging. But then, it would be a cliché to call a cliché, a cliché, wouldn’t it? We’re afraid that’s what happens with this movie - the attitude just doesn’t match up with the filmmaking.

The realism in this movie we’re afraid is all a little too contrived. There is this liberal minded professor, Apparao, (Sayaji Shinde) who tries every trick in the book to get his students - Shyam and Varun - to fall in love, just to satisfy his ego. Well they eventually do, but only after our man gives up. Cupid strikes over two nights of star gazing under a full-moon-lit sky! It just isn’t romance unless it’s something to with the elements you see.

We also have liberal parents who seem to be more excited about their college going kids falling in love that they get them engaged a soon as they learn about their romance even before the get jobs. Shyam find’s a job and moves to Bangaloore only to run into Sunaina – a short skirt wearing team lead – who’s made of the stuff Shyam used to dream about. As would be the case with most college pass-outs he gets attracted to her and his fiancée decides to dump him when she gets the first whiff. Then Shyam realizes his folly but she’s in no mood for apologies, and then the melodrama kicks in.

The performances are cute. Varun Sandesh works up his boyish charm and Sanchita tries too hard to play the simple but hard to please girl friend. Catherine Tresa’s glamour comes as a relief in the second half and she does a good job of playing the eye-candy. Sayaji Shinde’s performance looks labored.

There are some cute moments here and there and some comic episodes tickle your funny bones but that’s about it. The dialogues are too flat and the music is passable except for a couple of numbers. All in all it ends up neither being entirely funny nor heart tugging offering you somewhat of an “in-between” experience.

Tip-Off: Make sure you carry something really nice to eat, will come in handy to sit through the dull patches the movie is peppered with.