72. Tholi Prema; movie review

THOLI PREMA
Cert TBA
136 mins
BBFC advice: TBA

I am making a rather late new year's resolution to visit the Piccadilly in Birmingham more often.
Every time I have been to this specialist Indian movie cinema, I have been made to feel incredibly welcome and Sunday was no exception.
Thanks to a bad accident on the M42. I arrived ten minutes late for Tholi Prema but, incredibly, a staff member offered to park my car and then kindly ushered me to my seat.
This could not have been a greater contrast to the non-related Piccadilly in Leicester where I was turned away two weeks ago because of a policy not to show to single subscribers.
Anyway, thanks to the guys at Birmingham Piccadilly I was able to see a rare UK screening of Telugu movie Tholi Prema.
And, perhaps because I was in a very good mood, I rather enjoyed Venky Atluri's not-too-taxing chic flick.
Tholi Prema stars Varun Tej as a hot-headed but educationally smart architecture student who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful Varsha (Raashi Khanna).
Their gentle courting prompted me to wonder whether all Indian young people are so slow at coming forward when it comes to love. For example, the first hold-hands and kiss moments could be seen to be tender but also rather excruciating.
It jars that male characters seem a lot more comfortable in using their fists and feet in beating people up.
Anyway, despite being a bright chap, Tej's character is remarkably quick tempered and, despite being equally intelligent, Khanna's puts up with the red mist.
Their relationship is far from straightforward and the misunderstandings, rows and reunions are very much at its heart.
This is the land of the beautiful people and to match the cast, there are some smart expensive-looking backdrops in Tholi Prema. These add vibrance to the song and dance numbers.
And that's it. There is nothing remarkable about Atluri's movie but, although I was regularly tutting to myself about the characters' immaturity, I found it an easygoing stress-buster.

Reasons to watch: easygoing, watchable rom-com
Reasons to avoid: storyline lacks much depth

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit:  none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 6/10

Director's quote - Venky Atluri : "I was ragged a lot when I was in college and that influence is present in the film. I mostly tried to incorporate a lot of memories from this period."

The big question: - Are young Indian people really as bashful as they appear on the big screen?

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