Shiva Nirvana features two charming leads in a romantic drama filled with humour and great music, featuring many references to Mani Ratnam films like Vijay & Samantha, and beneath its entertaining surface lies an unspoken clash of ideologies that could easily ruin relationships. Shiva Nirvana takes a simple approach to show that love can overcome differences, with characters having one-note voices and ideologies being explored superficially.

Story of the Movie

At the outset, Shiva Nirvana – writer of screenplay, story, and dialogues – is advised to create more nuanced depictions that reflect all aspects of human complexity. Lenin Sathya (Sachiin Khadekar), is an atheist – his home contains quotes and posters featuring scientists. Chadarangam Srinivasa Rao (Murali Sharma), is known for his strict observance of religion. Both men engage in heated television debates. As expected chaos ensues when Lenin’s son Viplav Deverakonda’s (Vijay Deverakonda’s) daughter Aradhya (Samantha Ruth Prabhu) falls in love and decides to marry Chadarangam’s daughter Aradhya as well.

Shiva Nirvana weaves the tale of Viplav and Radhya through praise of Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman, and other artists. Viplav, an avid admirer of Mani Ratnam’s films is amusing to watch as he experiences Kashmir with Vennela Kishore as Pitobash; G Murali pays homage to PC Sreeram, Santosh Sivan, and G Murali with his camera; Hesham Abd Wahab also provides Viplav with some sound score when Viplav muses what an ARR background score would sound like for Kashmir!

In the Kushi movie, Vijay Deverakonda plays his part with innocence, sincerity, and charm, making us accept any silly or amusing situations with ease. Years have passed since Devarakonda returned to playing his natural role of “the boy next door”, yet his performance continues to carry this film even in its weaker parts. A delightful joke refers to Arjun Reddy before Rahul Ramakrishna portrays Arjun’s friend giving lessons in gender sensitivity – making this even more enjoyable!

After some references to Rose and Dil SeKushithen quickly transitions into Alaipayuthey mode (Sakhi In Telugu). When two families begin feuding with each other, Shiva Nirvana employs almost cartoonish father characters for dramatic effect in a metro setting that also manages to be comic. Saranya Ponvannan as Viplav’s mom and Lakshmi as Aradhya’s grandmother offer voices of reason but are given limited roles.

Samantha gradually comes into her own in the Kashmir segment. Viplav instantly falls for Samantha when they meet, while Sharanya Pradeep plays her friend convincingly and does most of the talking. Lakshmi enjoys Lakshmi’s company when we learn more about Aradhya. Baby.

Viplav and Aradhya’s families battle each other, making numerous Alaipayuthey references. From middle-class dwellings, and encouraging older couples (Rohini & Jayaram), who encourage Viplav & Aradhya to see past daily tensions to Rohini & Jayaram encouraging Viplav to look beyond everyday frictions as reminders, Alaipayuthey references appear. This film may even pay homage to Okay Kanmani!

In Kushi, the movie begins to falter as soon as his parents enter. A father who dismisses an unfortunate event with an “I told you so” comment rather than providing emotional support reveals just how egoistic human minds can be. By the final segment, however, both characters find an acceptable compromise and come together on equal terms to form a united front against Kushi’s antagonistic father.

However, the pieces leading up to this point are patchy; the story never lingers long enough on any one topic to have an impactful narrative arc; instead, it quickly transitions from a funny situation to a humorous situation or song and dance numbers to maintain an entertaining feel-good factor. Vijay and Samantha (aided by Chinmayi dubbing) capture each other’s inner turmoil here while Murali Sharma, Sachin Khadekar, and others attempt to overcome limitations associated with their characters but fail.

‘kushi’ movie aspects

Positives Points

This film does not present a revolutionary idea; rather it explores common, everyday relationship issues in an entertaining manner with excellent music and visuals that highlight conflict beautifully. Vijay Deverakonda excels as Viplav, setting aside his image as a mass star and doing exactly what his role requires; Vijay was incredible throughout, charming audiences with his comedy timing and giving great performances during key scenes.

Samantha, Samantha is stunning as the star actress in Kushi. She had excellent chemistry with Vijay Deverakonda, as well as being capable of portraying emotional scenes effectively. Sharanya Murali Sharma Rohini Sharanya Pradeep Sachin Khedekar Rahul Ramakrishna all delivered great performances that passed muster for their respective scenes.

Minus Points

After a certain point, the movie becomes predictable and therefore loses some of its impact. At times it can even be disappointing as it becomes easy to predict what will happen next; moreover, the Kerala episode should have been handled better.

This movie is lengthy and the editing team should have reduced some sequences, particularly Kashmir-focused parts that take too long to get going. While its initial momentum wasn’t impressive, after the intermission scene it picked up significantly. Shiva Nirvana claimed during her promotional campaign that this was an issue sensitive to women, yet we have seen similar themes treated before in other films.

Technical Aspects

Kushi features Hesham Abdul-Wahab as its second protagonist. Cinematographer Murali captured these songs beautifully. Rich visuals added an element of enjoyment while Mythri Movie Makers did not compromise production values; however, some improvements could have been made regarding editing.

Shiva Nirvana excelled as a director with Kushi. Taking an approachable and relatable concept that resonated with married audiences, and then conveying it in his signature style; Kushi was no different in this respect – all his films centre around everyday life issues; plus they had an exemplary technical team and cast.

Verdict

Khushi is an entertaining romantic comedy with an excellent second half. The main plot unfolds over the last hour of the film and provides good drama and emotion, featuring charming performances by Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha. Other artists provide support roles; unfortunately, the early portions could have used tightening up to have a greater impact. But director Shiva Nirvana has created an ideal film for family audiences that should make this weekend worth seeing.