In filmmaker Shiva Nirvana’s “Kushi,” which ups the feel-good element and avoids delving too deeply into its conflict, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Vijay Deverakonda channel their charisma.
Kushi Movie Review:
After viewing Kushi, one of the things that stuck in my mind was how carefully it had been crafted to be a feel-good movie. After their individual underwhelming past movies, the central trinity of director Shiva Nirvana, stars Vijay Deverakonda, and Samantha Ruth Prabhu requires box office success. Therefore, great care has been taken to make Kushi a fun family entertainment.
The endearing characters are paired with a romance drama that’s packed with humor, catchy music, and plenty of allusions to Mani Ratnam movies, including Vijay and Samantha. Underneath that amusing surface comes the ideological strife that has the potential to damage relationships. Shiva Nirvana uses a straightforward approach to demonstrate how love can overcome differences. Some of the characters are purely one-dimensional, and the examination of ideology only goes so far.
Telugu Movie: Kushi Star Cast : Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Lakshmi, Murali Sharma, and Vijay Deverakonda. Director: Shiva Nirvana
Music: Hesham Abdul Wahab, Storyline: What happens when two persons with diametrically opposed ideas get married?
Shiva Nirvana pays significant homage to Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman while narrating the Viplav-Aradhya romance. Viplav is a fan of Mani Ratnam, and it’s entertaining to see the full scene where he experiences Kashmiri reality with Pitobash (Vennela Kishore, who is good at making people laugh while being serious the entire time). When Viplav wonders how it would be to have an ARR background soundtrack for Kashmir, music composer Hesham Abdul Wahab willingly steps in with a feel-good composition as a tribute to the masters. G Murali’s camera was designed to capture Kashmir like PC Sreeram and Santosh Sivan.
Better writing might have improved the circumstances in which Viplav courted Aradhya. But because Vijay Deverakonda plays his part with innocence and sincerity, pouring all of his charisma, we succumb to the amusing, if cinematic and ridiculous, scenarios. The actor hasn’t recently played to his natural talent as the flawed boy next door. He carries the movie through some of its weaker later scenes and takes full ownership of his character. He then instructs his pal in gender sensitivity after making a humorous reference to Arjun Reddy! This is even better because Rahul Ramakrishna portrays the friend.
When the two families clash, Kushi enters the Alaipayuthey (or Sakhi in Telugu) mode after making multiple references to Roja and Dil Se. The father figures are almost cartoonish, and Shiva Nirvana makes use of this to create a tense scene on a subway train that also produces a few chuckles. Although they are given a small amount of space, Saranya Ponvannan, who plays Viplav’s mother, and Lakshmi, who plays Aradhya’s grandmother, could be the voices of reason.
Samantha gradually develops her own identity. She can only be described in the Kashmir chapter as a mysterious woman who instantly captures Viplav’s heart. The companion, Sharanya Pradeep, does most of the talking and is incredibly persuasive. It’s a sweet moment to observe Aradhya’s friendship with Lakshmi and briefly brings back thoughts of Oh! Baby as we learn more about her and enter her Kakinada home.
As Viplav and Aradhya rebel against their families, numerous allusions to Alaipayuthey appear. The older couple (Rohini and Jayaram), who encourage the younger couple to look beyond their daily conflicts and at the bigger picture, as well as the middle-class home all serve as a tribute to Alaipayuthey and Okay Kanmani.
The moment the parents intervene, Kushi starts to sway. When a father responds to hearing of a tragic event by saying, “I told you so,” rather than providing emotional support, it shows how egotistic the human mind can be. In the last section, the dispute is resolved and two diametrically opposed characters cross paths.
However, the parts that lead up to this point are sporadic. The story never wants to focus on a problem long enough for it to have an effect. In order to maintain the feel-good factor, it is constantly in a rush to burst into a funny situation or a song and dance. We are able to feel the inner struggle of Vijay and Samantha’s characters in these passages thanks in large part to Chinmayi’s dubbing. There is only so much Murali Sharma and Sachin Khadekar can do to transcend the constraints of their personalities.
Is Kushi a good watch? Without a doubt. The musical is enjoyable and romantic, and its endearing protagonists help. If the movie had given more thought and effort to the battle between science and faith, it might have been a standout as well.
