‘Seetha Ramula Kalyanam…Lanka Lo’ is yet another film which uses the tried and tested formula of love-family entertainer with a Rayalaseema Factionism backdrop. The film starring Nitin and Hansika is also the duo’s first film together. The film has been directed by Eshwar who had earlier directed ‘Siddhu from Srikakulam’ which more or less had the similar storyline and screenplay. Malla Vijayaprasad produced this film on ‘Welfare Group of Companies’ banner. The story has been inspired from the epic, Ramayanam where Rama has to save Seetha from Lanka. That’s precisely why the title of the film has a tagline ’Lanka’! It narrates the story of Chandu and how he saved the love of his life, Nandhu from Veera Pratap.

What is it about : Nitin stars as Chandu, a 21st century onscreen cliché of college going student. He’s the macho in the college, has doting parents and a great bunch of friends who follow him like a shadow. One day, he bumps into Nandhu (Hansika) and after a while Chandu falls in love with her. Nandhu is clearly not interested in him but she cannot stop thinking about him the moment he gives reasons for why he loves her. When everything seems to be going fine, Nandhu’s father, Peddhi Reddy (Suman) summons her to Rayalaseema. Veera Pratap (Salim Panda) belongs to a rival family who wants to marry Nandhu. He manages to get Nandhu kidnapped and the rest of the story is about how Chandu manages to save her.

What is Good: Nitin’s performance in the film is quite a revelation. He has cut down on his hamming to a great extent and stresses more on his dialogues without any exaggeration. He’s an excellent dancer and the choreography in this film suits his style. Hansika has a substantial role in the film and she doesn’t disappoint. She’s gorgeous in the film especially in the songs. Suman and Salim Panda who play key roles in the film are adequate. The film’s major strength is how effectively it uses all the comedians according to the situation. Surprisingly, none of them disappoint. ‘Satyam’ Rajesh, Venu and M S Narayana are impressive in the first half. M S Narayana has only couple of scenes but he makes his presence felt. However it’s Subba Raju and Brahmanandam who walk away with all the honours in the comedy department. The entire second half has hilarious instances involving both of them and the confusion which arises from these situations.

What is bad: ‘Seetha Ramula Kalyanam’ is ‘Yet Another’ film in this genre. Vikram Raj’s storyline faithfully follows all the clichés what one would associate with a macho-college student who lands up in Rayalaseema to save the love of his life while using mind games to confuse everyone around him. The film goes a little overboard while depicting the factionism which has again become sort of a cliché after watching countless films. On the whole, the whole story is extremely predictable except for few surprises.

Technical Departments: Vikram Raj’s story is good despite being very clichéd. The dialogues in the film are alright. M Joshi’s Cinematography is neat and it’s very good in the action sequences. Editing by Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao is good. Anoop Rubens’ music is good and trendy. Eshwar has also handled the screenplay apart from directing the film. The screenplay of the film is very predictable and Eshwar’s direction is good in parts.

Bottom Line: The problem with ‘Seetha Ramula Kalyanam…Lanka lo’ is it’s probably the zillionth time that this genre has been abused. The film has the same set of characters and their characterization is exactly similar to what you would have seen in other films. You know exactly how it’s going to end, yet it’s the journey and how the story is told which has to hold your interest. In this context, the film is a good attempt and doesn’t disappoint. It’s hilarious at times, unpretentiously clichéd and does what it has to do. Watch it, if you have no other choice.