@Nartanasala

@Nartanasala Story: A guy is forced into an alliance, while he is in a relationship with another girl. How he marries the girl of his choice with his antics is the basis behind @Nartanasala.

@Nartanasala Review: A title like ‘@Nartanasala’ is a reasonable hint that a film will deal with a guy’s transformed sexuality, referencing the popular mythological character Brihannala, where Arjuna masks his identity as a woman during the exile period of the Pandavas. Well, the film named after a classic with such lofty ambitions indeed had high standards to meet. @Nartanasala doesn’t even come close, in fact falls flat very early. The film opens with a priest suggesting a guy that his son would have a husband and not a wife in the future. A worried father doesn’t discuss this with the son or the family, but things take a strange turn sooner.

The director Srinivas Chakravarthy has misplaced ideas of women empowerment. The only interesting sequence where his ideas materialize is one where he encourages a woman to fight for herself instead of the guy beating up a group of eve-teasers. Absurdity strikes when you realise Naga Shaurya runs a so-called ‘Kalamandir Women Empower Institute’ where he teaches martial arts and dance to women, as a self-defence measure. The protagonist is a supposed feminist, he hoots when a girl Satya beats down a group of guys and even takes a selfie with her. He turns protector for another girl Manasa who’s constantly blackmailed by a good-for-nothing in an emotionally abusive relationship. While he falls for one of the girls, his marriage is arranged with another. The measures that the hero adopts to come out of the alliance form the crux of the story.

Tollywood hasn’t managed to be sensitive about LGBTQ issues in films, they merely become comic tropes. This one takes that liberty way too far. One of the antagonists in the film happens to be a gay, the father keeps addressing him as ‘bottharam gadu’. A priest says homosexuality is against nature and points it as a reason behind catastrophes across the world. Another guy questions ‘aren’t gays only supposed to exist in the US’. It’s agreed that a film needn’t be a sermon about gender sensitivity, the least a filmmaker could do is to avoid being offensive.

Even if you look beyond the Dostana-like treatment to the story, there isn’t much hope. Satyam Rajesh’s part as blackmailing lover is a misfit into the narrative, that he threatens his girl of consuming poison if she doesn’t adhere to his demands is a laughable character arc. A girl is termed as ‘ill-luck’ for the family, for her parents die immediately after her birth. The portion where the hero turns out to be the ice breaker between the girl and family is similar to that of a television soap minus any emotion.

Naga Shaurya tries hard to bring some sense into the mess and a brief portion where he acts as a homosexual, however there’s only so much that he could do. Most of the songs are imaginary sequences placed at odd situations and shot at larger-than-life landscapes. Both the leading ladies Kashmira and Yamini neither come with acting chops nor have ethereal beauty to make an impact. It’s high time Jayaprakash Reddy reinvents his persona. Ajay does get an interesting role but it’s diluted by immature histrionics in an attempt to generate humour. Meanwhile, forced brand placement is making its way to Telugu films too, so much that a character is named Kalamandir Kalyan and the apparel brand is displayed across hoardings, pamphlets, carry bags every other minute. @Nartanasala is an epic disappointment for Naga Shaurya after a passable Chalo.