Manorama

Starring: Charmy,Nishaan, Ali, MS Narayana and others

Director: Eashwar Reddy

Music: Koti

Release date: 27 March 2009

The film ‘Manorama is yet another thought provoking film from director Eashwar Reddy. He made a mark with his film ‘Mee Sreyobhilahi’ in which he tried to show that death was the not the only solution to problems faced by people.

In Manorama, Eashwar Reddy touches upon the sensitive subject of communal hatred and killings, with the example of the Godhra killings and the bomb blasts in Hyderabad.

The story:

Geetanjali (Charmy) comes to Hyderabad and stays in her friend’s room at Koti. Geetanjali believes in leading a meaningful life and she also has no intention of getting married. She spends most of the time peering out of her window. The window overlooks hotel Manorama. Geetanjali knows lip reading and one day she sees a young boy Vasu talking to his lover on phone. By reading his lips, she learns that he is telling her that he will commit suicide if she does not love him.

Geetanjali calls up Lakshmi and after confirming that the two are in love tries to save Vasu from the hands of the goons sent by Lakshmi’s brothers. At around this time, Nishaan a terrorist who is sent by the ISI lands up in Koti. His mission is to plant a bomb in hotel Manorama and kill as many people as possible.

Geetanjali befriends him and seeks his helping tracing Vasu and saving him. In the process, the two come close to one another. Geetanjali learns that Nishaan has lost his family members in the Godhra killings and hence has turned into a terrorist. Nishaan begins to like Geetanjali and it slowly turns into love. But he is shocked to learn about a startling fact about her.

What is it and what happens next forms the basis for the remaining part of the story.

Performance:

Charmy has acted without makeup in the film. She is very bubbly, innocent and fresh. Even without make up, she looks great right through the film. Manorama is certainly one of the better films of Charmy and should bring her a good name. She also does a hot dance number in which she is seen dancing with just a towel draped round her.

Newcomer Nishaan is okay and he does justice to his role. Ali as a beggar named Lakshmi Mittal and MS Narayana as LIC agent raise laughter with their comedy. The music by Koti is good and is in complete sync with the mood of the film.

The first half is racy while the second half with two parallel love tracks affects the pace as well as the suspense over when the bomb will go off.

The director must be commended for taking up such a relevant theme and telling it in a simple and straight manner. He also gives a proper ending to all the roles.

The film is good but lacks commercial elements and this may affect its chances at the box office to some extent.