Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu - Female Fete

 

Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu

Telugu, 2022

Director - Thirumalai Kishore

Stars - Urvashi, Radhika Sarathkumar, Khushboo, Jhansi, Sharwanand, Rashmika Mandanna

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐⭐

Despite my passion for film noir and detective mysteries, there is still nothing like a good, old fashioned romantic comedy to bring a smile to my face and a skip to my step. 

Aadavallu Meeku Johaarlu does just that, at least for the first half, largely due to the talents of 80s divas Radhika and Urvashi, who serve as the torch-bearers for the leading ladies who serve as mother and aunts to a young man seeking to get married.   Never mind the characters' husbands; it is made clear at the beginning of the film that, like all good husbands, they maintain their cameo appearances if and when needed.

The chemistry among the divas far outshines the romantic lead, with Ms. Mandanna struggling to keeep up with acting and even lip sync, even with the those of Mr. Sharwanand.  The story is made worse by a long second half focused on syrupy sentiment, which introduces Ms. Khusboo  Rather than maintain the quirky humor, the plot loses itself in syrupy sentiment and soliloquy

But love and romance win out over speeches, and in the end, with a nod to Covid behind us, makes one feel good about life, again.