Itlu Maredumilli Prajaneekam Movie Review: Great message but lacks depth

“Itlu Maredumilli Prajaneekam” is the latest film of Allari Naresh, who again relies on serious content and sincere efforts after the blockbuster success of ‘Naandhi.” The trailer and the other promos created a huge buzz on the film. Let’s see how the film fares at the box office.

Story:

“Itlu Maredumilli Prajaneekam” focuses on the fight of the people in the rural areas of Maredumilli against the government for their rights. Srinivas (Allari Naresh), a Telugu teacher by profession, is assigned a task in the name of election duty along with another English teacher, Vennela Kishore. The task is to conduct a 100% voting poll in Maredumilli. But the task gets tougher when the villagers oppose the elections since their existence has never been important before except for the votes. However, Srinivas, with the help of Lachchimi (Anandhi), a local young lady, conducts the elections. But then comes the real conflict when the villagers turn against the government. How the villagers of Maredumilli continue their fight against the government and its leaders, just for some basic needs in their area, is the rest of the narrative of “Itlu Maredumilli Prajaneekam.”

Analysis:

“Itlu Maredumilli Prajaneekaniki” owes a part of its core related to the election in a remote location to the Hindi flick Newton. However, there is nothing beyond that, and the narrative takes an entirely different turn here. The director tries to mix the issues as part of the story, but unfortunately, it doesn’t come that way. It is mainly because of the extreme focus on the issues and how they are sequenced one after the other. It leads to a formulaic feel. The attempt is there to make things organic, like the love track with the heroine or the problem with the brother, but again they are mixed with the larger issues.

The second half too follows the same formulaic approach. The sincerity and honesty are there, but the screenplay proceeds by the numbers. So, there are four stages to overcome and get things done, i.e. solve the issues. The officers are sent, the military arrives, a local trustee is directed, and finally, the collector arrives – it all happens conventionally without any gripping drama associated with them.

The army sequence is the best example concerning the missed opportunity. It starts with a bang but fizzes out in the end. Beating the lead doesn’t automatically lead to an emotional connection. It feels as if the makers think beating Allari Naresh is enough, looking at the many times it happens. Still, despite the predictable screenplay, the honest intent saves the day in the end. The message delivered in the climax is good, making one leave the cinema with positive thinking.

Overall, “Itlu Maredumilli Prajaneekaniki” is an honest and sincere attempt. But, it lacks the emotional depth to take it to the next level, making it a memorable outing. Give it a try if you like to see something rooted and different from routine but have expectations in check.

Performances:

Allari Naresh as Srinivas is a perfect fit for the role. It is so good to see Naresh on screen in a solid, serious role. The audience might miss the regular dose of comedy usually offered by the actor in other films, but what they get instead is an intense performance, which is way more satisfying. His dialogue delivery is appreciable. When it comes to acting, Naresh scored all the marks, both in the emotional scenes and the action parts.

Anandhi, as Lachchimi, the tribal girl, is beautiful by her appearance on screen. The actress gets a decent role in the first half and the pre-climax portion in the second half. Shritej looks very impressive with both his screen presence and performance. He appears to be a perfect fit for the role of a local guy. Also, his intense performance adds great weight to many portions of the film, particularly the interval block. Vennela Kishore and Raghu Babu provide lots of laughs at regular intervals. Praveen provides balanced assistance to them. Sampath, as the district collector, and Sethuraman, as the head of the villagers, get important roles and justified them.

Technicalities:

AR Mohan is the writer and director of the film. “Itlu Maredumilli Prajaneekam” is a brilliant idea on paper and a story that must be told to the public. AR Mohan injected every rural element of Maredumilli so perfectly into his story and made it the soul of the film. His focus on the lifestyle, problems, and rights of the rural people is appreciable. He is successful in presenting the importance of the vote, questioning the ruling of the government, and many other social issues through his writing. He handled a few sensible elements very carefully and beautifully, such as expressing the greatness of Telugu through dialogues, establishing the conflict between the public and the government, and presenting the cow’s devotion. The only thing lacking in his direction is making the audience connect to the subject.

Raam Reddy, the cinematographer of the film, needs a special mention on the technical side. Maredumilli looks so beautiful through his lens. It is the use of the camera in those dense forests that looks special on screen. The night shots during the intermission are the best. Sricharan Pakala’s music and background score are satisfactory. Production values are also good.

Advantages:

Performances

Cinematography

Message delivered

Drawbacks:

Missing emotional connection

Predictable