Mem Famous Movie review: Genuine attempt by the youngsters

Sumanth Prabhas’ “Mem Famous” is capturing the imagination of all with attractive teasers, trailers and promotional content. The film created huge buzz among movie lovers. The film hits theatres and let us see how it fares at box-office.

Story

“Mem Famous” story is all about three youngsters who pass the time without doing anything in their village and how circumstances turned them and made the entire village proud of them. Mahi (Sumanth Prabhas), Bali (Mourya Chowdhary), and Durga (Mani Aegurla) who lives in Bandanarsampally village in Telangana spend time doing nothing. Their acts in an inebriated state often land them in trouble and villagers loathe them to the core. The trio decides to mend their ways following an incident. To find out what is the incident and whether they are successful in their attempts, how the other characters are connected to it forms the rest of the story.

Analysis

Sumanth Prabhas not only acts as the lead but also directs the movie. It’s his debut, and he has picked a relatable subject concerning the youth for his first outing. The opening block sets the tone for things to follow neatly. The injury post the cricket match and the hoodwinking followed by the fight – everything looks natural yet has the ‘cinematic’ enjoyment factor all along. It’s this combination that does the trick for the movie as a whole.

The director takes time to establish the various characters but doesn’t make it too much of a drag by simultaneously providing fun. It arrives via the writing, which is sharp, and the actors deliver the punches effectively.

The story kicks in midway through the first half. It is utterly predictable without any novelty. Similar stories involving aimless youth have come in the past, too and give a dated vibe. But, the director succeeds in mostly evading the issue with writing that is full of modern-day jargon of a village milieu. It provides the movie with its freshness.

The interval block could be a lot better, though. The issue starts with the pre-interval, and the same continues with the interval making one lose interest in the second half storywise. The already predictable tale goes several notches higher on that front.

The worst fears come true initially in the second half when the proceedings begin. However, things get back on track once the fun starts again. The writing does the required all over again.

A few blocks in the second half are hilarious and will have an immense connection with the youth (Anji Mama and Lipstick Spoiler). The supporting cast is used excellently to deliver an entertainment-filled narrative.

There are bumps in between, but it doesn’t entirely disturb the flow. However, a sense of bloatedness does creep in as the narrative feels like taking too long to reach the end. It is mainly felt towards the pre-climax, where a small fight and challenge occurs. It seems as if the director realises things have been going on for so long, and we must reach an end soon. But things are back on track with the climax immediately.

Overall, “Mem Famous” succeeds in writing, casting, and youthful vibe, but falls short with a predictable story, unsatisfactory climax, and pacing issues. Despite its flaws, one can try for its’s vibe and genuineness from the young team.

Performances

Sumanth Prabhas who played the lead role performed well and impressed with his body language and mannerisms. Mourya Chowdhary and Mani Aegurla who played the role of his friends supported him quite well taking the scenes to new heights. Saarya Lakshman and Siri Raasi who played the lady love of Sumanth Prabhas and Mourya Chowdhary got limited scope to perform and they did full justice to their roles.

Anji Mama is major asset of the film. He showed good emotions and expressions and his screen presence turned out to be the strong point in the narration. Others like Muralidhar Goud, Narendra Ravi, etc performed according to their roles.

Technicalities

Sumanth Prabhas highlighted how a fit-for-nothing three youngsters did a turnaround in their village helping it to develop with their acts. The story is simple and predictable. Sumanth Prabhas tried to generate fun and entertain movie lovers with the dialogues in Telangana accent and the village's rustic atmosphere. He succeeds in the first half to entertain but faces trouble in the later. The narration, screenplay, and direction took deviatin with the silly acts to get views and clicks for a youtube channel. This along with many repetitive scenes, turned the entire second half into a boring spectacle. Finally, the film ends in a routine manner with no real interesting elements.

Kalyan Nayak's music is ok. His background score is in sync with the rural backdrop. Shyam Dupati's cinematography showcased the rustic village atmosphere in a realistic and natural way. The editing of Srujana Adusumilli can be better in second half. Dialogues in Telangana accent at times are decent and overall average. Production values of Chai Bisket Films and Lahari Films are good.

Advantages

Writing

Performances

Cinematography

Drawbacks

Predictable Story

Lag in second half

Climax