Movie Title: True Lover
Release Date: February 10, 2024.
True Lover Movie Rating: 3.5/5
Cast: Manikandan, Sri Gouri Priya, Kanna Ravi, Harish, Saravanan, Harini Sundararajan, Harish Nagalakshmi Kumar, and Geetha Kailasam.
Director: Prabhuram Vyas.
Producers: Yuvaraj Ganeshan and Magesh Raj Pasilian.
Music Director: Sean Ronaldon
Cinematographers: Shreyaas Krishna.
Editor: Barath Vikraman.
Related Links: Trailer.
Good night, fame. Manikandan and Mad Fame Sri Gouri Priya have teamed up for the film Lover. True Lover is the Telugu title of the film released by SKN and Maruthi. Prabhuram Vyas directed the romantic drama. Let’s see how the film goes.
Story:
Arun (Manikandan) and Divya (Sri Gouri Priya) are a college couple who have been together for about six years. All is not well between the couple, owing to Arun’s possessive and aggressive personality. Arun wants to open a cafe, but finding investors has proven difficult. Arun accepts a job on Divya’s recommendation, but it is short-lived. Arun begins picking fights with Divya for one or more reasons. Have Arun and Divya married? Did they resolve all of their relationship issues? This is what the movie is about.
Plus Points:
If Love Today is a comedic take on modern relationships, True Lover takes a more serious approach to the same subject. The director attempted to portray contemporary relationships through the characters Arun and Divya. The film contains some relatable moments for young people, and these scenes are likely to resonate with this demographic. The humor is passable.
We start hating Manikandan because of his natural and fantastic portrayal of Arun. In his career, the young actor has taken on a variety of roles and performed them with conviction. The best part is that his Telugu dubbing is excellent, and I applaud his efforts.
Sri Gouri Priya is amazing in True Lover. She did an excellent job expressing the pain she felt as a result of the toxic relationship. This role is extremely difficult to play, but Gouri Priya nailed it and stole the show. The actress had a nice chemistry with the protagonist. Sri Gouri Priya will undoubtedly achieve success if she makes the right career choices. The climax makes sense after everything that has been shown. Others are effective in their roles.
Minus points:
The main issue with True Lover is its repetitive nature. The director creates almost identical scenarios throughout the film to depict the toxic relationship. Arun continues to shout and abuse Divya, but he immediately apologizes to her. Many scenes appear to be similar, giving the impression that the film is skirting the issue.
For example, the opening and interval sequences appear identical. Divya tries to hide the fact that she is with her friends, but Arun discovers this through her friends’ Instagram stories.
The first half had some engaging moments, but the second half did not. The heroine delivers a hard-hitting dialogue in the second half that sums up the lead pair’s toxic relationship, but nothing major happens before that. The story does not progress until that point.
The last hour of the film drags on for no apparent reason, and the scenarios are identical to those in the first half. If the climax had been routine, the film would have appeared artificial; thankfully, this did not occur. But we have to wait for that conclusion. There should have been more scenes with the protagonist’s parents because they play an important role in the story.
Technical aspects:
Sean Ronaldon’s songs and background score are appropriate to the film’s tone. Even the creators chose a different color scheme to highlight the dark side of the lead pair’s relationship. Shreyas Krishna’s cinematography is impactful, and the production values are satisfactory. The length is a major disadvantage. Love films like these require sharp editing.
Director Prabhuram Vyas succeeds in parts. His idea to highlight the harsh realities of modern life is admirable, and he also got excellent performances from Manikandan and Gouri Priya. However, he should have come up with more interesting and unique ideas to make the film more engaging. The climax is well handled, but the lag in the second half causes boredom.
Verdict:
Overall, True Lover is a genuine attempt to depict the complications of modern-day relationships, but the director employs a similar set of ideas, and the film is overstretched. True Lover undoubtedly has moments that the youth can relate to. The lead actors, Manikandan and Sri Gouri Priya gave their all and added value to the film. The film would have had a much greater impact if it had been more crisp. If you’re okay with these flaws, you should give it a shot.