World Famous Lover Movie Review: Vijay Deverakonda stars in a love story without a soul

Director Kranthi Madhav has penned this convoluted romantic entertainer — World Famous Lover — featuring the charismatic Vijay Deverakonda in an intense and complex character. The director has been unable to make an impression with his script which is filled with heavy melodrama and contrived emotions. The film is high on angst, grief, and exasperation and doesn't quite hit the right note. Barring a handful of moments, the movie sadly is far from Vijay Deverakonda's best work. It is simply a cliched and archaic love story.

Cast: Deverakonda Vijay Sai, Raashi Khanna, Aishwarya Rajesh, Catherine Tresa, Izabelle Leite
Director: Kranthi Madhav

The film begins on a compelling note with Yamini (Raashi Khanna) stuck in a loveless relationship with aspiring writer Gautham (Vijay Deverakonda). While she goes to work, Gautham leads a lazy, unmotivated life, watching a lot of cartoons on television. Frustrated with Gautham’s behaviour, Yamini decides to call it quits and that is when he starts writing, in the hope that it would bring back the good old days with her. He takes us through the fictitious world of a middle-class mine worker Seenayya, his wife Suvarna (Aishwarya Rajesh) and Smitha (Catherine Tresa) from Yellandu. Later, he becomes the head of a radio channel in Paris and philanders with a pilot Iza (Izabelle Leite). He tries to find solace by relating to these contrasting characters only to prove a point to Yamini. 

There are only a few fresh ideas when it comes to love stories as almost every premise has been explored many-a-time before. However, the creativity of the director depends on how contemporarily he can narrate such stories to stand out from the lot.

World Famous Lover, unfortunately, is not only boring but also painfully predictable. Gautham and Yamini's long exchanges are trite and repetitive. Their romance lacks passion and their chemistry seems exaggerated, so you hardly care if they reunite in the end or not. There are some moments when we get concerned about Gautham’s next move and its outcome, but these are few and far between.

Recounted in a non-linear manner and packed with backstories, what holds your attention in the first hour are the credible performances delivered by Vijay and Aishwarya. The duo effortlessly displays a wide range of emotions as a sulking husband and a possessive wife. Post-intermission, however, the film goes off the rails. In the second half, much time and footage are wasted on Gautham's world of imagination. This shows that the director has clearly run out of ideas.

World Famous Lover doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of its beginning, but it does have several moments that are enjoyable. There’s a crackling scene in the first hour which shows a disgruntled Seenayya underlining his father’s inability to provide higher education to him. This is followed by a scene when Seenayya asks his wife to serve the dinner. These scenes make the audience erupt with laughter.

As Gautham and Seenayya, Vijay Deverakonda brims with confidence and carries a strong screen presence. He aces the rural Telangana dialect and gets the body language and personality of a mine worker right. However, it must be noted that he suffers from an Arjun Reddy hangover throughout.

Raashi Khanna as Yamini starts off with a bit of promise, but peters out. She does not act with energy and lacks the screen presence we expect of a female lead. Her body language is unconvincing, her facial expressions look unreal, and her dialogue delivery lacks modulation.

Izabella Leite, the pilot from France, offers nothing to this poorly-written character by way of performance. Aishwarya shines effortlessly in her character of Suvarna, a homemaker, challenged by a series of happenings and obstacles as she tries to impress her husband.

Overall, World Famous Lover is a misfire and blame for that must go to Kranthi Madhav for failing to keep the narrative slick and the tone consistent.