In SS Rajamouli's Magadheera, the moment Ram Charan touches Kajal Aggarwal for the first time, both experience electric shock waves, which becomes one of the film's major conflict points. That film went on to become an industry blockbuster.
Building a comedy around a female lead suffering from such an unusual condition certainly sounds interesting on paper. However, with Oh! Sukumari, debut director Bharath Darshan fails to translate that idea into an engaging film. His inexperience is evident in both the writing and execution. Produced by Maheshwara Reddy Mooli, the film's limited budget is also quite visible on screen.
Thiruveer and Aishwarya Rajesh play the lead pair. Both are capable performers, particularly Aishwarya, who has built a reputation for choosing performance-oriented roles. Naturally, expectations are high, but Oh! Sukumari ends up being a major disappointment.
Director: Bharath Darshan
Cast: Thiruveer, Aishwarya Rajesh, Aamani, Jhansi, Muralidhar Goud, Anand, Srinivas Gavireddy, Vishnu Oi and others
Daamini (Aishwarya Rajesh) suffers from a rare disorder from childhood. Anyone who touches her receives an electric shock. Worried about her future, especially her marriage, her father (Anand) struggles to find a suitable groom. Yadagiri (Thiruveer), an aspiring politician who dreams of becoming the village sarpanch, falls in love with Daamini after seeing her in the village. Unaware of her condition, he agrees to marry her, while Daamini's family and the villagers keep her secret hidden.
Meanwhile, Yadagiri has another reason to marry quickly. His grandfather's will states that whichever of his two grandsons has a male child first will inherit 80 acres of land. What happens after the marriage? How does Daamini cope with her condition? Can the couple stay together despite the challenges? The answers form the rest of the story.
Bharath Darshan makes his directorial debut with Oh! Sukumari, for which he has also written the story. Unfortunately, the film clearly exposes his lack of experience, particularly in screenplay writing.
When audiences watch a comedy, they rarely question logic as long as the humour works. Telugu cinema has produced countless comedy classics through filmmakers like EVV Satyanarayana, Jandhyala and Relangi Narasimha Rao. Their films succeeded because the situations and writing generated laughter naturally. Oh! Sukumari, meanwhile, struggles to produce even a handful of genuinely funny moments.
The biggest problem is that the director never convincingly establishes Daamini's unusual condition. As a result, the central conflict itself fails to create curiosity. Despite being promoted as a comedy, the film hardly delivers any memorable comic sequences.
There is enough scope to explore family emotions after the marriage, but those scenes too are let down by weak writing and predictable situations. Except for a few scattered moments, watching the film becomes an exercise in patience.
The first half focuses on Daamini's childhood, Yadagiri falling in love with her and their marriage. Unfortunately, much of it is filled with forced comedy that simply doesn't land. The second half shifts towards family drama, where there is potential for emotional conflict, but predictable writing and unimaginative scenes make it equally disappointing.
Aishwarya Rajesh sincerely tries to make Daamini believable, but there is very little she can do with a poorly written character. Whether in comedy or emotional scenes, the writing never allows her performance to shine.
Thiruveer, who has recently been choosing interesting scripts, gets very little scope here. His performance is decent, but the routine comedy written for him fails to entertain. Muralidhar Goud, Jhansi, Aamani and Anand perform their roles adequately. Vishnu Oi manages to evoke a few laughs as a wedding photographer and is among the few bright spots in the film.
Bharath Manchiraju's music is forgettable, while the background score offers little support. The production values are modest, and the low budget is evident in several portions. The dialogues, too, lack freshness and fail to generate either humour or emotion.
Oh! Sukumari has an interesting premise that could have made for an entertaining family comedy. Unfortunately, weak writing, amateurish direction and a predictable screenplay derail the film. Despite the presence of talented actors like Aishwarya Rajesh and Thiruveer, the film never rises above its underdeveloped concept, making it a disappointing watch.