For months, the relationship of actors Naresh and Pavitra Lokesh has been a hot topic in the media. Similarly, their latest film “Malli Pelli” made quite a stir. In this film, the real-life couple plays themselves.

Let us find out its merits and demerits.

Story:
Narendra (Naresh) is a veteran actor who has been married twice, and his third marriage is in trouble. He realizes that his third wife, Sowmya Sethupathi (Vanitha Vijaykumar), only married him for money. He seeks ‘peace of mind’ at this age.

Parvathi (Pavitra Lokesh), a popular Kannada actress who works with him in a Telugu film, enters in his life. They exchange pleasantries, and he is soon drawn to her personality. He considers her to be her soulmate.

But Narendra does not go any further after realizing that she is living a happy life in Bengaluru with her husband and two children.

He receives a message from her late one night that changes their lives forever. What was the message?

Will Narendra and Pavitra unite as one despite Sowmya’s plot to expose their relationship?

Artistes’ Performances:
Naresh’s portrayal of Narendra is good. Pavitra Lokesh does the same way. Since the story is almost their life, they are at their natural self.

Ananya Nagalla, who plays Pavtira Lokesh’s younger self, adds some glamour to the film. Vanitha Vijay Kumar is an excellent choice for Narendra’s third wife. Her performance is also noteworthy.

Jayasudha as Naresh’s mother and Sarath Babu as the original superstar both play their parts with dignity.

Technical Excellence:
The film has excellent production values. The cinematography is superb. The songs are not catchy, but they help the narration progress. Editing is neat. Dialogues are sufficient.

Highlights:
MS Raju’s narration
Pavitra Lokesh’s chapter

Drawback:
The final chapter
Music
Plain way

Analysis
“Malli Pelli” has received a lot of attention since Naresh and Pavitra Lokesh’s real-life relationship became a hot topic in the media. Those who have followed the news have seen the allegations leveled by Naresh’s third wife Ramya Raghupathi against him, as well as the drama she created in the hotel room in Bengaluru. She stated that she caught Naresh and Pavitra being in the same room.

Naresh and Pavitra have also recently announced that they are living together and have begun a new chapter in their lives. We also know that Naresh has been married three times and that Pavitra has children from previous relationships.

But we don’t know how they fell in love. What made Pavitra Lokesh, a married woman with children, choose to live with Naresh? Is Ramya Raghupathi’s accusation true? “Malli Pelli” puts certain developments in perspective.

As part of their claim that the film is a work of fiction, the filmmakers have altered the cast’s real names, changing Naresh to Narendra, Pavitra to Parvathi, and Ramya Raghupathi to Sowmya Sethupathi.

The actors Jayasudha and Sarath Babu portray Vijaya Nirmala and Superstar Krishna, respectively. Even though the filmmakers claim the film is not about Naresh and Pavitra, it is essentially a biopic of the couple.

The film opens with Naresh and Pavitra Lokesh driving away from the scene of a minor fight they had earlier, before rewinding to their first encounter. The story is broken up into several chapters, each of which focuses on a different aspect of the Naresh and Pavitra’s lives: Naresh and Pavitra’s friendship, Vanitha Vijay Kumar’s pursuit of Naresh, Pavitra Lokesh’s live-in relationship with a writer, and the media circus.

MS Raju tried to give the story a cinematic feel. He has done a decent job of telling the story, though it is obviously biased.

The chapter involving Pavitra Lokesh and her writer friend is narrated more dramatically and in an appealing way. On the downside, the film turns a bit boring in the final chapter.

Whether their story is real or fiction or one-sided, as a film, “Malli Pelli” is a fairly okay film with some interesting moments and raises curiosity given the controversial relationship.

Bottom line: Okay