Mee Sreyobhilashi is a movie with a message, the second one Rajendra Prasad starred in after Aa Naluguru. It has good dialogues, pacy narration and well-written albeit flat characters. The flow is not interrupted by any songs as the title number is played in the background and is situational.
Plot: Rajaji collects a group of people who have given up on life for various reasons, from failing in an exam to harassment from in-laws to financial crisis. They all want to end their lives, but he asks them to journey with him to Srisailam where they can fall from a cliff and make it seem like an accident-moreover, the company will give each other courage. One of them, a man with a terminal illness, writes it in his diary and dies in an accident before boarding the bus. The police find it and are in search of this group, while the group sets out on its last journey.
Story, Screenplay and Direction: There are really only two points that could have been done better. One is the reactions of people (for anything said or done) which are not spontaneous-the editing might be to blame, but only in this aspect. Ten people going on a suicidal journey would have been either tenser, ill-at-ease or depressed. This is evident, but the consistency is not present in some scenes.
Apart from that, the movie is watchable and what more, it moves very quickly. You never realize that the time went so fast till the break. The story is predictable, sure, but that doesn't make the viewing any less enjoyable. Everyone knows the story of Rama and Sita, but each director/storyteller has a different style of presenting it. The same goes for Mee Sreyobhilashi. The narration here is kept very simple and smooth.
The screenplay is another asset for the movie. The flashback is kept brief, and the ending is good albeit understood. A few of the performances are amateur, but some of the other pros more than make up for it.
Performances: Naresh has done an excellent job as a producer whose movie 'Nasanam' flops and the financers hound him day and night. He really gets into the skin of the character, with that accent and mannerism, he steals the show. Raghubabu as the alcoholic bus driver comes a close second. Krishna Bhagawan as one of the ten, Nasser as the police officer in charge of stopping this group suicide and Ali in his cameo round it off nicely as far as the characters and performance go.
Rajendra Prasad gives a convincing performance, but his makeup is a blotched job. Meena as a girl being harassed by her in-laws and Dhanush & Roopa as a couple whose parents don't agree to the match are okay. Raavi Kondala Rao & Radha Kumari as an old couple whose sons are burdened by them are good. Chinna as the terminally ill man is flawless. Brahmanandam's cameo is amusing.
Music and Dance: The title number by Koti is a pleasant composition, and the background is not overbearing.
Last Word: It's raining small movies-either in terms of starcast, budget or otherwise. Some of the big movies this year have been disappointing. But movies this month such as Mantra, Anasuya and now Mee Sreyobhilashi make up for that because of a solid storyline, interesting narration and decent performances. The message is very good and crystal clear, and the movie stays in focus and concentrates on that single point throughout. In other words, it doesn't drag. A good start for a debutant director.
Watch Movie Here
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