Oonamalu Movie Review – 3.5/5

Onamalu revolves around a village. Narayana Rao master (Rajendra Prasad) grows as an orphan in a village and completes his education taking help of villagers. And join as a teacher in the same village. His children settle in America and he leaves to America. He does not digest the culture and returns to the same village, He recollects all the sweet memories of his village while travelling from the airport in a car to his place with a view that Village people will have the same old mindsets and they give importance to human relationship But, for a surprise he find people with completely changed mentalities. As Mahatma Gandhi said “India lives in its villages” . How our Narayan Master will enlighten the people? And what all changes he brings in their lives? …is the story.

For Rajendra Prasad it is a cake walk, he already proved in earlier films like Aa Naluguru and Mee Sreyobhilashi. He is the obvious choice for the role.Kalyani in wife role does a very good job and they make a fine pair. Raghu Babu is adorable as Erramanzil and credible performances from Chalapati Rao and Siva Parvati.

Lyrical beauty adds to the greenery and also describes the pathos and pain the master undergoes. Director Kranti Madhav’s narration exudes sincerity, honesty and sense of purpose. He hasn’t left any lesson untouched, those ignorant can learn a few and the learned ones can go through them once again. The strength of the film is the dialogue writer and the cinematographer. Koti music is pleasant.

Onamaalu is not a movie as much as it is a string of little vignettes – if the first half is about showcasing incidents of goodness in the picture-perfect rural community, the second half is all about how life has “degraded”. It’s all about painting a picture with individual elements in place, with little emphasis on making this a free-flowing story.

While the word ‘commercial cinema’ is order of the day, any poster that has an artiste, dressed as a senior citizen in dhoti and kurta, bespectacled is bound to keep youth away but…give it a thought why Rajendra Prasad and why not someone? Rajendra Prasad must have been an obvious choice after Aa Naluguru and Mee Sreyobhilashi in Onamalu that revolves around a village.The intention of the director is very clear, he shows the ideal village in India where air is pure and people don’t think twice in feeding people. The philosophy behind the thought is simple, just keep feeding and God will ensure you are never short of food.

A True film…Dont Miss