'Chaavu Kaburu Challaga' is out in theatres. Does the film live up to the expectations? Here we tell you in our review.
Story
Basthi Balaraju (Kartikeya Gummakonda) drives dead bodies to the funeral ground in the town. He falls in love with Mallika (Lavanya Tripathi), a staff nurse who is a widow. Balaraju's behaviour is not to the liking of Mallika's father-in-law, who is played by Murali Sharma.
When the going gets tough, Balaraju has to grapple with a tragedy. His mother is played by Aamani, the yesteryear actress, who has her own backstory. The rest of the film is about how Balaraju handles the situations arising at home and those with respect to Mallika.
Performances
After a streak of flops, Kartikeya has pinned hopes on this film. As he had said before the film's release, he sees 'CKC' as a potential game-changer for him the way 'RX 100' was. His performance is quite good here, and definitely better than what we saw of him in his post-'RX 100' outings. He strikes instant chemistry with Lavanya Tripathi, who gets a tan to look the part.
The character artists play their parts with clarity. Aamani makes an impressive comeback several years after she stopped playing interesting movies. Murali Sharma and Srikanth Iyyengar give their best shot. Mahesh Achanta, Bhadram and others are okayish.
Technical aspects
After a project like 'Taxiwala', Jakes Bejoy needed an exciting medium-range film and 'CKC' came as the answer. He puts the opportunity to good use. 'Ayyayyayyo' and other songs make for a good watch. The special song 'Paina Pataram', shot on Anasuya Bharadwaj and Kartikeya, is a plus. Karm Chawla's cinematography and Manisha A Dutt's production design do justice to the subject.
Analysis
The film mainly involves two women and how Balaraju confronts the developments flowing from his equations with them. On the one hand, Mallika is a damsel in distress. On the other hand, his mother has had to lead a somewhat dejected life, thanks to her husband's paralyzed state.
Debutant director Koushik Pegallapati tells the story as a light-hearted one. The film does get serious on three occasions: Interval, Pre-Climax, and Climax. But the film is essentially not about melodrama or tears.
At 135 minutes, 'CKC' has got the right run-time. The proceedings are not stretched, and the situational comedy clicks.
Murali Sharma's character is well-rounded, with him having a say till the climax. As for Lavanya's character, it has got a respectable arc. The emotional scenes between Balaraju and his mother are a plus.
It would have been better had the second half been tight right up to the pre-climax phase.
Closing Remarks
'CKC' makes for a decently engaging watch. The film philosophizes about death and, as the title suggests, conveys its message in a calm manner.
