18 Pages review: This retro-styled romance impresses only in parts

2.5/5

Story:

Siddu a.k.a Siddharth, a software employee, is head over heels in love with Preethi, but their relationship falls apart when the latter cheats on him. While lamenting over his past, he comes across a diary of a girl named Nandini in the middle of a road. With every page in the book, Siddu becomes more obsessed with Nandini and his outlook towards life drastically changes by the day. There’s a twist in the tale when Siddu tries to trace Nandini’s wherabouts. Will Siddu and Nandini ever get to meet each other?

Review:

There’s something very comforting about old-world romances in times where most love stories are skin-deep and often come with the vibe of a manufactured product. 18 Pages, as the title suggests, revolves around the diary of a girl and how a man falls for her thoughts, child-like approach to life. Right after a breakup, Nandini brings hope to Siddu’s life. He’s in pursuit of her, not for her looks but for her personality.

18 Pages as a romance is more idealistic and less pragmatic, although you root for the characters because of their honesty. While the premise Pages feels like a fond throwback to the 80s/90s era romance, the execution is all over the place. The director Palnati Surya Pratap is desperate to squeeze drama out of Nandini’s diary entries and Siddu’s hysterical responses and the film struggles to build any sort of momentum.

Nandini’s story is narrated in brief episodes through Siddu’s eyes and it’s not an ideal scenario when a director sets up an entire half of a film where the protagonist reads only 18 pages in a diary. The film, if not anything else, certainly needed a faster reader. Siddu’s dramatic reactions to Nandini’s observations and his desperation to imbibe her approach to life is tiring. The sequence where Siddu tries to reach his meeting venue without the use of technology, in particular, is outrageously silly.

After an intriguing reveleation and a surprisingly mature response from Siddu, you expect the film to gain steam with the backstory on Nandini. However, the backstory is as vanilla as it can get; the writing is lazy, unimaginative and makes the final act feel so convenient. 18 Pages needed more redrafting and a director with a greater conviction in the material. For a major part, despite its ambitious ideas, the film is too superficial and struggles to keep you glued to the screens.

Another major area of concern is Nandini’s characterisation. She is absolutely a product of male fantasy and is an embodiment of perfection. She doesn’t use mobile/social media, draws muggus the first thing in the morning, helps kids at an orphanage, beggars on a road, offers relationship advice for her room mates and maintains a journal. The idea of writing a character that’s very much unlike a millennial is interesting, but it’s important for a viewer to feel she’s human. She can’t do any wrong here.

The subplot around Siddu’s grandfather and his desperation to preach his parents doesn’t help the film’s cause. 18 Pages works mostly when it emphasises on the little gestures that make relationships work. Siddu and Nandini don’t try to impress one another; the former’s acts are born out of his genuine concern and care for her. The ending comes with a poetic touch. If not for the compulsion and the struggle to stretch the plot for over 2 hours, 18 Pages would’ve been a crisp, engaging film.

Nikhil Siddhartha, as usual, doesn’t try to place himself above the story and comes up with a largely effective performance. Despite the ‘oh-so-perfect’ characterisation, Anupama Parameswaran succeeds in lending a vulnerability to Nandini. However, the supporting cast’s efforts are disappointing, to put it mildly. Sarayu Roy’s role as a female sidekick obstructs the flow of the story. Dinesh Tej, Posani, Ajay, Raj Tirandasu hardly make any impression in their brief roles.

18 Pages is yet another proof of Gopi Sundar’s consistency as a composer - three of the four tracks, including Nannayya Raasina, Yedurangula Vaana, Nee Valla O Pilla, stay with you long after the film. The cinematography is passable, there are a few dubbing/lip-sync issues as well but the invisible villain in the film is its dull screenplay. Palnati Surya Pratap makes progress as a director in comparison to Kumari 21F though his storytelling abilities still need improvement.

Verdict:

18 Pages neither leaves you totally satisfied nor does it disappoint you. It certainly has a promising story though the finesse in the execution is amiss. Nikhil and Anupama Parameswaran’s performances and Gopi Sundar’s music save the day.