A PASSABLE AFFAIR-NINNINDALE
BY SAMARTH MADHUSUDAN RAO
2.5/5
When a filmmaker has Puneeth Rajkumar as his lead in Ninnindale, you expect some novelty in your movie. The man, who has evolved to become a brilliant performer, is a power star in all senses. Not only can he pull the masses, he has the ability to blend with the class too. Along with him, when a filmmaker has a star cast consisting of Avinash, Achyuth Kumar, Sadhu Kokila and a host of others who are great performers in their own right you expect some great characters.
And also when you have a great technical team (Vindya, Marthand Venkatesh and Mani Sharma) with ample budget, one would assume that this flick would turn out to be a blockbuster in every way.
All thanks to the director, this movie with such a cast and crew ends up being a mediocre fare. Jayanth Paranji (Theen Maar and Shankar Dada MBBS fame) uses all the available resources just as props and fails big time in blending them to make a complete cinema. He succeeds in making such an average film that you will be left wondering as to how could one screw it up when you have everything you need to make a good movie.
Having learnt that none of his last few movies have worked at the BO, I was very unsure if Jayanth would be able to pull it off, and my worst nightmares came true this morning. Controlling myself not to expect too much, yet hoping for a great movie, I walked in to the cinema.
Two hours and forty odd minutes later, I walked out wondering if I should look for the director and ask him as to how he feels for having screwed up with my mind by and for having messed up a movie that could have been a simple yet a good entertainer. ‘Ninnindale’ as the title and the promos suggested, was meant to be a straightforward breezy romantic movie. And at the core of the flick, the movie meekly attempts to be what it is meant to be. Only to end up being entertaining in parts.
The wafer-thin storyline and a screenplay that is written with the least amount of care, makes Ninnindale a very average watch. I knew that this movie would have a lot of Tollywood flavour to it and was at least hoping that it would be entertaining to say the least. Jayanth throws in so many characters like the ones you see in usual masala Telugu flicks, that he fails to develop any of them making them look one dimensional.
Except for Puneeth, none of the character has been well thought out. Worst of all, Paranje manages to find the worst American actors for the movie. As if there’s an academy for bad acting and they were outsourcing people for cents! And they get to mouth some of the worst written English lines that one would ever hear, that you will either be left giggling or disgusted by the end of the movie.
Brahmanandam is a mere prop and he speaks Telugu while the voice is dubbed in Kannada. His is a totally unwanted character in the movie. And what is it with all the voice sync for Erica and the supporting chick who acted in Happy Days? It truly left me disgusted as if the makers took us Kannadigas for granted and made them mouth dialogues in some other language and later dubbed it into Kannada.
If only prettiness could emote, all the models would have made it big in Cinema. Erica who is a model herself, fails in many ways. For 90% of the movie, Erica’s lips rarely move while the dubbing artist goes on to emote intense scenes with some cheesy dialogues.
Visually stunning, Ninnindale brings a never before seen USA for the Kannada audience. And there are certain adventure sports that look magnificent on the silver screen. But Jayanth fails to use all of them to such an extent, that they all look totally unwanted in the movie. If you are pinning your hopes on these scenes, you might end up being disappointed for they are merely good looking shots.
Ninnindale works only because of three things. The technical team, which is top notch, makes the flick a visual spectacle. The other reason is Mani Sharma, the music director. Each and every song is worth a mention and has been picturised well. The songs which are already topping the charts will stay with you for days to come. And the final reason that makes Ninnindale watchable is none other than APPU.
A Rockstar in all essence, Appu displays an innate sense of maturity in his performance and makes the movie worth a watch. He excels in the songs and dances so brilliantly, that he is indeed a treat to watch. His dialogue delivery and expressions tell you that he has gotten into the skin of his character. If not for him, Ninnindale would have been a pain in the kundi.
Visually enticing yet mentally numbing in many ways, Ninnindale is entertaining only in parts and remains average and even below average in some of the scenes. Ninnindale could have been so much more, but all thanks to the director who fails in many levels, it ends up being a onetime watch.
Watch Ninnindale only if you want to watch Puneeth give one of his best performances or if you have nothing to do.
Write to me on samarthmadhusudan2@gmail.com if you agree or disagree with my views. Thanks for reading :)
Like your review style, very expressive!!
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