Vishnu Vinyasam, produced by Sumanth Naidu G and Sree Subrahmanyeshwara Cinemas, was released in theatres today. In this section, we are going to review the latest BO release.
Plot:
Vishnu (Sree Vishnu) is a Junior Lecturer who reports to Manisha (Nayana Sarika) at the college. A superstitious person who is obsessed with astrology, vastu and numerology, he falls for her despite her peculiar behaviour. At 30, he is desperate to get married; at 27, she is equally desperate. A twist in the tale arrives when the mysterious past of Manisha is revealed, leaving Vishnu grappling with his choice.
Performances & Technical Departments:
Sree Vishnu plays to his strengths, using Gen Z-friendly one-liners and social media references. However, he looks somewhat bulky and, as a consequence, overaged for the role. Overall, though, the actor is lively. Nayana Sarika of AAY and KA fame gets to play a full-fledged role; she doesn't make her quirks and dilemmas come across as a caricature.
Expectations from Satya's scenes with the male lead were high despite the fact that the makers had avoided hyping it up. Since the protagonist does the job of reacting funnily to his unenviable situation, Satya doesn't get to do much. Srikanth Iyengar and Goparaju Ramana play the fathers of the heroine and hero, respectively. Murali Sharma plays an accomplished astrologer. Brahmaji and Praveen play the lead pair's colleagues in the college. Srinivas Reddy plays a quack whose character is fashioned after Mallikarjuna Rao's character in Ravi Teja's Venky.
While Radhan’s songs are serviceable, the background score feels disconnected from contemporary trends. Its intrusive nature often competes with the narrative rather than supporting it.
Post-Mortem:
Director Yadunath Maruthi Rao's storyline is fairly interesting. Superstitious beliefs have been embraced by Millennials and Gen Zers as much as by Boomers. In the name of comedy, Vishnu Vinyasam introduces an exaggerated characterization: Vishnu uses his neighbour's washroom because it's a 'vaastu' thing. If he weren't using social media trends like Odiyamma Bunty and Raktha Pinjari, we might think he just walked out of a reluctant Muthyala Subbaiah entertainer.
The situations, particularly in the second half, are surreal. They are narrated without a sense of social commentary, though. The idea is to keep throwing jokes at the audience and give them a dramatic reveal in the final act. The reliance on slapstick comedy is evident in the scenes involving more than three characters. A 'pelli choopulu' scene involving the lead pair and their families is funny; Sree Vishnu almost assumes the personality of an Anil Ravipudi character from F2.
References to 'embarrassing' conditions like piles pop up every time you expect the film to get into a serious mode. The final reveal belongs to the old school and the director is aware of this quality. Therefore, his treatment is deeply youth-coded. The conversations between the lead pair are never normal, with Vishnu fearing bombshells and left reacting to them in a display of physical comedy.
The film would have been much better had it been treated as a relationship drama at one level. Manisha is there throughout, but we know little of her world. The last 20 minutes could have been extended into an elaborate screenplay in favour of a genre shift.
Closing Remarks:
Vishnu Vinyasam is a lighthearted, if somewhat uneven, attempt at a modern "superstition-meets-romance" comedy. While it benefits immensely from Sree Vishnu’s comedic timing and Nayana Sarika’s grounded performance, the film struggles to find a consistent tone.
