Nirmala Convent Review

'Nirmala Convent' is 'Slumdog Millionaire'-meets-'Gangotri'.  OK, we mean a dumbed down version of both.

The film is set in a village where unequal social relations means the landlord rules the roost.  LB Sriram refuses to budge on parting with his piece of land to the village's biggest landlord.  A conspiracy later, LB dies.  (NOTE: Conspiracies, kiddish or otherwise, whether it's against Nagarjuna's show or the love birds, whether by kids or grownups, are a leitmotif of this movie).  His son (Surya) now has to protect the piece of land from being snatched away by the evil landlord's son.  As is your guess, Surya's son grows up to make the landlord's son's teenage (minor) daughter fall in love with him.  As you wouldn't guess, he is super-intelligent at General knowledge and has something to do with Akkineni Nagarjuna (who plays himself) before he wins his sweetheart.

A teenage love story, this one follows a predictable route from word go.  The one and only high comes in the last 30 minutes or so when Nagarjuna and Roshan entertain.

Nagarjuna plays a strong supporting actor's role.  Message-telling (about the value of education, etc) is organic to the story.  The director could have avoided too much invocation of movies (as in the conversations between the lead pair) for good.  From Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh to Akhil and Naga Chaitanya, from 'Nuvvu Naku Nacchav', 'Shiva', 'Ninne Pelladatha', 'Toli Prema' to 'Manam', they all make their presence felt in the lives of the lead pair more than we feeling the presence of the lead pair in the movie.

The dialogues could have been imaginative so as to avert that an old-style narrational feel.  Talking of the screenplay, kid stuff could have been avoided.  Would a TV host, a star at that, cancel off a special event and go back because his vehicle had a flat tyre?  Tagubothu Ramesh, Jogi Brothers, Praveen, and all the school kids trying to do comedy fall flat.

The director relies on what sells most: friends doing their all and going to any extent for the sake of their friend's love, etc.

Roshan Saluri's music passes muster.  'Entha kashtam' is a nice number.  The cinematography and other technical departments are good enough.

The debut of Roshan (actor Srikanth's son) is decent enough.  He has a good screen presence, although he looks too young.  Shriya Sharma (the child artiste of 'Jai Chiranjeeva' and 'Dookudu' fame) is apt in the role of a 16-something.  She shows arrogance and tenderness with ease.

Nagarjuna does a fine job playing himself.  He supports the film well.

Verdict: The film lives up to its image of a teenage love story.  Although predictable, certain commercial elements could work for sections of audiences.

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