Nannu Dochukunduvate Review: An enjoyable film that's high on genuine comedy

Actor Sudheer Babu, who is basking in the success of Sammohanam, has worn the acting cap once again for the plot-driven romcom Nannu Dochukunduvate. High on genuine comedy, the film marks the debut of RS Naidu as the director. The narrative shows Sudheer Babu as Karthik, a workaholic manager in a software company, who lives a dull life bereft of emotions and has a lone dream to settle down in the US. He gets caught in a tricky situation and asks college student-turned-short-film actor, Meghana (Nabha Natesh) to act as his imaginary girlfriend, Siri to calm down his father (Nasser), who isn’t convinced of his son’s relationship.

The sequence showing Karthik and Meghana narrating the stories of their first meeting to Nasser leaves us in splits. While the former weaves a story around work backdrop, the latter, as expected, takes the filmi route a la how Mahesh Babu befriends Shruti Haasan in Srimanthudu. Their bond grows stronger with every passing day making things too complicated for Karthik.

What's refreshing about Nannu Dochukunduvate is the fact that it doesn't fall into the commercial trap of including unnecessary, vulgar comedy. The short film sequences featuring Meghana don't feel stretched and are authentic. Although you can trace back several gags to some earlier hits, the conviction and the way in which these jokes come together in the narrative is laudable. Sudheer Babu's hilarious struggling act in his short-film debut is a laugh riot.

While the director strikes a fine balance between emotions and humour in the first hour, he falters in the second hour as the narration feels out of place. As much as you look forward to seeing what happens next, you can't help but find distracting the unnecessary fight, song-and-dance sequences.

Nabha Natesh suits the role of a naive actor, who comments and likes her own videos just to create some hype. Nasser towers above others by bringing in freshness to a cliche role. Sudheer Babu makes you invested in the film with his impressive performance. He has an easygoing presence that fits into his characters well. Shankarabharanam Tulasi manages to hold her own as well.

Though Nannu Dochukunduvate isn’t perfect, it is consistently funny, with abundant humour. The film works largely because it's a cleverly written story that unfolds at a decent pace, jumping from one witty sequence to the next, leaving you with little time to stop and ruminate on the proceedings. It's the perfect weekend entertainer that you are sure to find more enjoyable than many films you’ve seen recently.