Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi movie review: Ganesh is on auto-pilot mode in tale that is as old as time

2/5

Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi movie story: Krishna (Ganesh), the super-successful entrepreneur and founder of the Krishna Group of Companies, is smitten with Pranaya (Malavika Nair), who runs an orphanage. Worried that his socio-economic status may scare her off, Krishna pretends to be a driver looking for work and gets himself employed by Pranaya. This, he reckons, will allow her to see him for who he truly is. Krishna’s plan works out and he gets married to the love of his life.

But before they can enjoy their happily-ever-after, Krishna and Pranaya become victims of a violent attack. Is there still hope for the couple?

No teaser or trailer for Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi and here’s why 

Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi movie review: Amnesia as a plot point, is a done-to-death trope in cinema across genres and languages. Using it innovatively, to give audiences a fresh experience is a major challenge, one that the team of Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi not only failed at miserably, but also let audiences figure out this plot twist with the non-linear narrative of the first half.

Director Srinivas Raju’s story-telling had me confused at first, I confess, but the more I saw him cut between scenes of Krishna in love with Pranaya and then of him with no idea who she is, it became apparent that memory loss is at the centre of this tale. Of course, this also meant that the ending became crystal clear way before the interval and sitting through the rest of the film became a tedious task. I had this exact same feeling during Ganesh’s Baanadariyalli, when 5 minutes into the film, I texted a friend the reason he’d head to Kenya.

In Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi, the role is, of course, tailor-made for Ganesh. This is his comfort zone and even if he’d sleep walked through it, you’d probably not notice. So, you can either be happy you got vintage Ganesh or be frustrated that he’s chosen not to veer off the beaten path; I am going with the latter. If you can take an actor and swap his characters in different films and find no difference, that’s a problem. It continues here, although Srinivas sticks to the romantic hero with a flair for comedy bit for Ganesh and spares the waterworks.

On paper, Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi has a large star cast, what with Krishna part of a big joint family. A lot of familiar faces have been lined up; many of who don’t get more than 2 scenes in the nearly 3-hour movie. Even second heroine Saranya Shetty does not fare much better in these stakes, despite getting a romantic number to bust a few moves. Take her out of the equation and Srinivas would have been able to present the central plot (that revolves around Krishna and Pranaya) with pretty much the same effect and a much pacier narrative.

Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi is being released on the back of the success of the film’s music. Prior to the release of the film, that’s all that Srinivas put in the public domain. A trailer would have, perhaps, given away that he’s attempted to bottle old wine in a new bottle, so he chose not to. The songs were the only talking point and by themselves, most sounded good, although when the last few came out, taking the total to 8-9, it sounded a few warning bells. Sure enough, in the film, there are one too many, and they literally overstay their welcome.

Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi movie verdict: Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi’s fate hangs on a delicate balance – are you camp vintage Ganesh or are you tired of seeing him do the same thing over and over again? The story’s been recycled from countless others, so, don’t go looking for novelty either. If you are okay with a simple family drama that’s not as complicated as it is being made out to be, with some laughs thrown in, then Krishnam Pranayam Sakhi is just right for you.