'Meet Cute', produced by Ghanta Naveen Babu and Prashanti Tipirneni under Wall Poster Cinema, is currently streaming on SonyLIV.
Story
This is an anthology comprising five episodes in total. Much as the title indicates, the first encounter between two characters in each story leads to life-altering experiences for one or both of them. The encounter is charming in two of the stories, while the rest of the stories have a template-ish staging passed off as cute-sy meets.
Analysis
The first episode, titled 'Meet the Boy', features Ashwin Kumar and Varsha Bollamma in the lead. Their parents have arranged a pre-'pelli choopulu' sort of meeting for them at a restaurant. In the process of a free-wheeling chit-chat, they discover each other's likes and dislikes, convictions and values. The setting, the writing, and the ending are very YouTube-ish with nothing special about the episode.
The second one, titled 'Old Is Gold', features Sathyaraj as a retired old man who is flying to Switzerland. At a consulate, he bumps into a working woman played by Ruhani Sharma, who just had an argument with her husband (played by Raaja Chembolu). The old man and the woman get into a conversation over snacks. The premise is too familiar for us to not predict that the youngster is going to get a life lesson in adjustment from the old man.
The third one, titled 'In L(AW)OVE', features Rohini as a single parent who walks into a vet clinic managed by Aakanskha Singh's character. Dheekshith Shetty plays her son. The mother is shocked upon discovering that he is in love with a woman who is two years older than him. A meet-cute between her and her son's lover leads to emotional closure. After two really boring episodes, this one is like a relief.
The fourth one, titled 'Star Struck', stars Adah Sharma as a film actress who has a 'Sammohanam'-like encounter with an outsider. Shiva Kandukuri, a doctor, helps her on a rainy night. A meet-cute between them gives them a lifetime memory. Diary entries full of poetic language and nostalgia, an open-ended ending, and over-sweet conversations make this an underwhelming watch.
The last episode, titled 'Ex-Girl Friend', has depth. Sunainaa plays Kiran, a young woman who has a meet-cute with a miffed girlfriend (played by Sanchitha Poonacha). Govind Padmasoorya is the latter's boyfriend. For some reason, Kiran feels that the GF needs to give her BF umpteen chances. She narrates a tale that comes with a twist. Ideally, this should have been the first episode of the anthology. The streaming platform seems to have placed it at last because they believe heavy stories don't work for the Telugu viewer, although this is where writer-director Deepthi Ganta's writing talent comes to the fore.
Budding composer Vijai Bulganin gets a platform to showcase his talent but not by much. Garry BH's editing and A Vasanth's cinematography are good. Avinash Kolla's art direction is adequate.
Closing Remarks
'Meet Cute' can be watched with sub-par expectations. Three stories are at the level of YouTube 'drama'. The other two are definitely good.
