Idi Naa Love Story Review: TThharun’s comeback is a damp squib 

Sitting in the theatre watching 132 minute-long Idi Naa Love Story is like a self-inflicted wound that will not heal for long. If a film which marks the return of Tollywood’s lover boy, known for depicting agony and desolation with his performances in a spate of films, it’s natural to expect a feel-good love story loaded with intense emotions and entertainment. But, this TThharun-starrer is hampered by preachy dialogue and scenes that suck the life out of its viewers. The major problem with the film is the forced melodrama, lack of subtlety, and the shabby and amateurish narration.  

Cast: TThharun, Oviya
Director: Gopi Ramesh

The story follows the life of Abhiram (TThharun), a heart-broken ad-filmmaker, who falls in love all over again with Abhinaya (Oviya) when he sees her dancing on the mountain. The duo shares their previous love stories and starts getting close. When everything seems going right... in comes a startling twist to the tale, and Abhiram is picked up by cops for an attempt to rape Abhinaya. The next two hours are so insipid that it is difficult to believe that any actor would want it to be his comeback vehicle.

Idi Naa Love Story has an interesting storyline which, if handled wisely, could have been an engrossing romedy. It’s about how Abhiram and Abhinaya struggle to deal with a jumble of emotions after their break-up. In the process, one would assume that the stage is perfectly set for the actual love story to unfold. But instead, the narration gets cliched and tiresome. The lead actors share no chemistry and their romantic numbers equally fail to redeem the film. In one instance Abhinaya says, "Veedu chala suthi chepthunnadu" and that perfectly echoes the audience's feelings inside the theatre. The screenplay juggles between past and present, in an attempt to raise the curiosity, but the plan backfires and all it does is hinder one's train of thought.

Directors Ramesh-Gopi’s work falls short of expectations. The comedy doesn’t hit the mark either, and it’s high time directors stop using these jabardasth kind of crass one-liners as a source of entertainment. Sample this: "Kaalu tokkithene sorry cheptaaru, hrudayanni tokkesi sorry cheppavaa?" says a girl before parting ways with her boyfriend, and "Kukka biscuit lo kukka undadhu gaani, cream biscuit lo cream untundhi," says a girl with her boyfriend.

Much like the story, Oviya is lacking in expressions and is unable to leave an impact. TThharun seems to be so busy trying to sound, dance and look like his earlier films, that we hardly get a glimpse of his natural self. He is, however, marginally better than Oviya. But if he wishes to act in more romantic entertainers, he really should choose his scripts wisely.

All said, Idi Naa Love Story is bland and evokes no emotion, other than exasperation at having to watch it for two hours and 12 minutes. Watch at your own risk as it may destroy your love for love stories!