Boni meaning a debut or start, released to the expectations that this will be a “different” film given the casting of Sumanth along with music by Ramana Gogula. Unfortunately for all concerned, Boni disappoints due to a very weak story that decides to stagnate in the second half. The disappointment is more so because the breezy and light first half builds up audience expectations that are let down as the movie progresses.

What is it about : DD (Sumanth) & Chinna are two happy-go-lucky goons who indulge in petty crime while working for Giri (Tanikella Bharani) and Das. They want to set up a restaurant with their criminal earnings so that they can fulfill the dream of their dead godmother. On the other hand, Pragathi (Kriti) runs an NGO that needs four crores to free a village from an exploitative zamindar. While she plans her fake kidnapping to extort money from her corrupt minister dad, she gets kidnapped for real by Sumanth. Till this point, the movie is light & breezy due to this comedy of errors and then the second half gets serious once Das decides to kill her. So now we have lead pair running all over the city before the real villains get exposed, the farmers get their land and the love birds are ready to live happily ever-after.

What is Good: Sumanth put his heart in this role and it shows up in his performance as the vulnerable lover boy. He is there in most of the frames and his pleasant screen-presence adds to the charm. The art direction department ensures the frames are filled with rich colors while the songs are good and well shot. The comic track is clean without any double-meaning dialogues. It was good to see the veteran comedian Suthi Velu on the big screen.

What is bad: If only the director had paid attention to the script and concentrated on keeping the second half crisp & fast paced, it would have been a definite winner. The slow-pace, unnecessary scenes, two ill-timed songs and tame climax end up disappointing the audience. The other major let-down was the total lack of chemistry between Sumanth & Kriti which made the love track look very cold.

Me Thinks: For the all expectations generated, it ends up as a disappointment, which is all thanks to a very sketchy story

Tailpiece: The heroine is called Boni by Sumanth for most of the movie since she is their “Boni” in the area of kidnapping.