Bhartha Mahasayulaku Wignyapthi’s team did well to prepare viewers for what they could expect from the Sankranti release. Despite its done-to-death premise of a cheating husband sandwiched between two stubborn women, it was deemed to be a departure for Ravi Teja from his loud action fares, in the capable hands of director Kishore Tirumala who is known for his lighthearted entertainers.
Ravi Teja is in fairly good company in his latest outing to deliver on the promise. Apart from the leading ladies Dimple Hayathi and Ashika Ranganath, a formidable bunch of comedy actors — Satya, Sunil, Vennela Kishore, Getup Srinu and Muralidhar Goud — provide the actor enough fodder to be his good old cheery self.
Yet, if you expect a festive fare that would go all guns blazing, you might be in for a mild disappointment. These are desperate times in Telugu cinema when viewers are expected to be happy with the bare minimum. For starters, the film consciously avoids anything high-stakes. Every scope for high-pitch drama is converted into a gag, laced with pop-culture references and odd coincidences.
What begins as a casual fling between a married man, Ram a.k.a Satya (Ravi Teja), and Manasa (Ashika Ranganath) in the middle of an international business trip, balloons into an out-of-the-blue mess when the latter lands in Hyderabad, disrupting Ram’s otherwise stable marriage with Balamani (Dimple Hayathi). The more Ram tries to conceal the truth, the deeper he lands in trouble.
Bhartha Mahasayulaku Wignyapthi (Telugu)
Director: Kishore Tirumala
Cast: Ravi Teja, Dimple Hayathi, Ashika Ranganath
Runtime: 130 minutes
Story: A married man is tormented by the ramifications of a fling he has during an overseas trip.
The self-aware first hour is a breeze and serves as a reminder of the director’s flair for comedy. Ravi Teja is at home playing a flawed husband consumed by guilt over a one-night stand. The tension around his infidelity is explored well through the supporting cast — the loyal assistant Leela (Vennela Kishore), an occasionally straying Sudarshan (Sunil), and the young Trinetrudu (90s: A Middle Class Biopic child actor Rohan Roy).
Tirumala uses an old-time device — the alter-ego — to expand on Ram’s guilt, a creative choice that helps Ravi Teja flaunt his famously unabashed dialogue delivery. However, with an anxious husband, a liberated woman, and a loyal wife at the helm, one expects the writing to take stock of changes in modern-day relationships and upgrade the template. Instead, it resists any effort to push the bar.
Post intermission, though the humour works in parts, the director runs out of ideas to escalate the conflict. The subplot around Manasa’s rowdy brother Rakesh Shetty (Tarak Ponnappa) is a failed bid to generate tension in between the flippancy. The hotel episode around the generator starts well, but is stretched beyond necessity. The fight sequence too feels needless.
The dumb-charades episode with the entire cast in place should have been a firecracker, but it lacks vigour and only contributes to the cacophony. The effort to cater to the Insta-reels crowd is evident with the party versions of the Karthika Deepam title track and the Pinni song. Despite the song and dance routines being easy on the eyes and catchy, they appear randomly squeezed into the narrative.
The climax is also a reflection of lazy, convenient writing. The mix of lengthy monologues and absurd events can leave the audience confused on whether it wants to be a cautionary tale for men or poke fun at itself. Bhartha Mahasayulaku Wignyapthi works best when its lead character admits his mistake and makes a valiant attempt to put it behind him.
The desperate bid to justify Ram’s affair and paint himself as a victim of an over-protective wife in the final monologue feels unnecessary. The film could have been a fun take on changing relationship norms, though its conservative approach makes it a lost opportunity. The joke around a Spanish woman’s tattoo and how she is ‘sold property’ (referring to her OTT and satellite rights) is despicable.
While this is not the quintessential Ravi Teja film one expects, the actor’s restraint in humour is an advantage, and he is aided by Sunil who is back in his element and Vennela Kishore in a regular but entertaining appearance. Satya’s ‘bellam’ episode starts with promise, although it doesn’t explode enough.
Both leading ladies, Ashika and Dimple, hold their own with their confident presence and dance their hearts out in the catchy folk number ‘Vammo Vayyo’. Yet, more could have been done with their parts than reducing them to representations of the ‘wife’ and the ‘other woman’ who fight for the man and occasionally groove alongside him in dream sequences.
Bhartha Mahasayulaku Wignyapthi is a mixed bag on the whole. Although it hints at the director and the actor’s return to form in flashes, it is barely a reflection of their complete potential. It is like paying for a full ticket but stepping out partially satisfied.
