Malliswari (2004) :
Brief Review -
"It Happened One Night" Indianised in K. Vijaya Bhaskar style. Belongs to those rom-coms that they don't make anymore nowadays. Bhaskar's filmography is full of remakes, and Malliswari just happens to be one, but unofficially and differs in parts. I enjoyed his Nuvvu Naaku Nachav, which wasn't a remake of any film, but I could see a lot of references from other movies. K. Vijaya Bhaskar knew the pals of Telugu audiences, especially family audiences, so he served them with his cinematic knowledge of commercial entertainers (clean entertainers too). We all know Frank Capra's timeless cult, "It Happened One Night" (1934)-Hindi audiences know it from "Chori Chori" (1956) or "Dil Hain Ke Maanta Nahin" (1991). Now, just remove a few elements here and there from the original, add Indian masala as per requirements, and you have your "Malliswari" ready. The girl is a princess, just like it was in the original, but the boy doesn't know about it until the first half is over. In the original, the boy knows it, and that's why he is with her. During the trip, they fall in love, and the girl realizes how important he is to her. The boy isn't after money; he saves her life, and she finally runs away from her wedding and all that.. You know all the stuff already, so I won't spoil much. The action and villain angles are new here, and that's why it makes a perfect family entertainer. Some emotional scenes do carry you away. I liked that one when Balu, the chauffeur, shows his respect towards Prasad and asks him to leave because he thinks that this man is too big for these small-hearted people. In reply, Prasad says, "You can ask for interest after lending money, but you cannot ask for thanks after helping someone." It won my heart there. Then, there was a typical speech by Malliswari, and it really worked on emotional levels. Overall, a nice adaptation of an iconic rom-com and a healthy comedy, if not a complete remake.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
