Vennela 1 ½ Movie Review by Mamidi Harikrishna
Release Date: 21st September, 2012
Genre: Diaspora-Youthful Romantic Comedy
Banner: GR8 Productions
Presenter: Vintage Creations
Producers: Vasu- Varma
Music: Sunil Kashyap
Written & Directed by: Vennela Kishore
Star Cast: Chaitanya Krishna, Monal Gajjar, Vennela Kishore, Brahmanandam
The Comedians wielding mega-phone is not new to Tollywood! Earlier, veterans like Padmanabham, AVS wore the Director’s cap and made certain movies. But these, trials proved that, the movies made by the Comedian-turned-Directors were bite the dust at Box-office. In spite of this established previous sentiment, Vennela Kishore’s Vennela 1 ½ created buzz in the industry. The movie is touted to be debut movie of Vennela Kishore, had a variety in title, add with a numeral of 1 ½. It got the attention of the audience as the movie casts Monal Gajjar’s second movie after stupendous success of Sudigadu. (Actually, Vennela 1 ½ is the first movie of Monal, but Sudigadu released earlier).
Even the promos, posters and the captions like “Pelliki break- Premaku like”, “love + laugh- logic”, had created curiosity among the educated metro youth, painting the movie as a New-Gen youthful romantic entertainer!
In addition to all, the movie is publicized as the sequel to the much-appreciated 200 flick, Vennela of Deva Katta! The young audience, who had a liking towards Diaspora Genre movies too eagerly waited for the release of the movie!
THE STORY:
Krishna (Chaitanya Krishna) is a young lad studying in Bangkok. Khader Basha (Vennela kishore), Youtube Yuvak, Sunil are his room mates. Krishna is Love Pujari, who gave free advice to the lovers over phone. He makes a contract with a rich Industrialist, who is a father of Vennela (Monal Gajjar). Vennela is engaged to a Software Engineer, Shravan. The contract is to create rift and break the jodi from marriage. In the process, Krishna falls in love with Vennela. How Krishna influence Vennela to shift her love-interest towards Krishna by making differences between the engaged couple and won her heart is the rest of the story.
THE TECHNICALITIES:
It is all the show of Vennela Kishore as the main supporting actor on the screen and as the writer-director off-the-screen! He has tried his level best to portray the movie into a complete “young adult comedy entertainer” on the lines of Hollywood’s American Pie! He made certain experiments with the story Narrative style, which is unique to Telugu Silver Screen. He opens the story as the interpretation of Kishore to Thagubothu Ramesh in the back-drop of a typical mutton shop in old city of Hyderabad. He made sarcastic comments on his own movie through Ramesh’s character, as the story goes on, which coincides with the thoughts of the audience.
The introduction of the characters using graphic work is somewhat interesting and the cartoon animation used for the travel from USA to Bangkok is added the fun element. The movie has introduced LIVE BREAK, a very new concept to the Tollywood, wherein it gave new vista in using interval time of 10 minutes as the commercial space, in a novel way!
The music composed by Sunil Kashyap followed rock style certain numbers and rendered two melodious songs too. The cinematography captured the required beauty and milieu of Bangkok and created a visual atmosphere in making the movie an adult romantic comedy. THE
PERFORMANCES:
Chaitanya Krishna, who debuted in Sneha Geetam, has shown his prowess in acting and dancing skills with all ease. Monal Gajjar is no doubt a glam addition. Vennela Kishore as Khader in two shades, as the NRI student and a Mutton-vendor played well. The other actors playing the roles of Youtube Yuvak and Sunil too suited to their bill. Shravan as the fiancée to Monal is OK.
Brahmanandam and Bharath made comic relief in the second half with their own style of histrionics and comic expressions. Raghu Babu as the cars-thief too added flavour to the run in the comedy episodes.
THE SUM-UP:
In general, comedy is acceptable to all sections of people and that’s why, the storylines comedy films will be designed keeping the audience 
in view. So, writers and directors of the comedies, will have more burden in creating the scenes, story and thread of the story, to make it as a total family entertainer. But here, Vennela 1 ½ is seems to be totally lied on comedy derived from sex, double meanings and adult content alone. This over dosage of adult content in the movie had successfully keeps the family audience away from the movie. Most of the scenes are comprised the “piss” scenes and the comedy driven with the Trans-sexuals. We can definitely pity on the director for his Sex sight, he portrayed in the movie in the name of comedy. The comedy had crossed sensibilities and subtlety of comic relief and transcended into vulgarity. The style picturised as so-called New-Gen comedy is OK to some extent. But the movie has placed more than 10 scenes, which definitely tests tolerance levels of audience and make them irritation in the theatres.
The movie is inter-woven with comedy and love story. But Comedy has over dominated the love story and swallowed the element of sensibility and missed “connectivity” factor with the audience. If the movie’s comedy made as supplement, by making the love story as the main plot, the movie will definitely show an extension to Vennela.
The Diaspora Genre movies are very much countable on fingers in Tollywood. The young audience had made certain expectations on Vennela Kishore, as he is an America-returned Film Enthusiast, and his product will definitely highlight the plight and state of the NRI youth on the foreign land. But, the characters and story line has taken an opposite turn on the screen and portrayed the NRI youth as the sex-starving, vulnerable and wavering lot.
All in all, Vennela 1 ½ may cater the appetite of young audience. Its watchable in scenes. But missed the thread and feel as the complete cinema of entertainment. It is absolutely a disputed debut to Vennela Kishore as director and put a big scar in his career, as a film maker!
