Couple Friendly Review

Santosh Sobhan made an impressive start to his career, but things took a nose-dive with back-to-back flops. After a long gap, he is now out with his new romantic drama Couple Friendly, which hit the screens as a Valentine’s Day special. Read our review here.

Story

Shiva (Santosh Sobhan) is an interior designer from Nellore who lands in Chennai to make it big. While he struggles to do so, he falls for Mithra (Manasa Varanasi) and enters into a live-in relationship. While things change for Shiva career-wise, Mithra still struggles to make a career in IT. Because of this, ego issues creep into their relationship and make things complicated. If this was not enough, a crazy twist in their lives brings even more issues into their relationship. How they handle all this is the basic story of the film.

Performances

There is no denying the fact that Santosh Sobhan is a fine talent, and he proves it once again with Couple Friendly. Be it his slang, body language, or portrayal of a man who is low on confidence and struggling to get things together, he is very good. His emotions are balanced, and the young actor performs supremely well in all emotional scenes.

But it is Manasa Varanasi who is the show-stealer of the film. The way her character has been designed, Manasa’s confidence, emotional outbursts, and the way she emotes in all the romantic scenes speak volumes about her talent. She is a treat to watch in Couple Friendly. Rajeev Kanakala does his father’s role on a routine note, but Goparaju Ramana is quite good in the film with his unique dialogue delivery.

Technical Aspects:

Dinesh Purushothaman handles the camerawork and needs a special mention. Every location chosen in Chennai looks authentic, and the way Dinesh has showcased the story through a unique pattern and realistic visuals makes things click in Couple Friendly. The production design is also top-notch, and the presence of Tamil culture and a few Tamil locals speaking in between gives the film a lot of authenticity. Yet another highlight of the film is its crisp runtime. There are no dragged scenes, and even if there are, the edit makes things look a lot better. The writing is good, and the special twist that comes gives the film a different vibe.

Positives

The twist in the second half
Superb performances
Engaging narrative

Negatives

Dull music
Lack of smooth transition to the twist

Analysis

Couple Friendly has been written and directed by Ashwin Chandrasekhar. By the looks of it, the film is a routine romantic drama with a different backdrop. But the manner in which it is handled with realistic moments makes all the difference. The struggles faced by the lead pair are brought in organically and not forced. The ego issues that the couple goes through or the romantic moments they share in the first half are very good.

A few romantic conversations between the couple bring a lot of freshness to the script. The first half moves at a swift pace, and each episode showcased does not drag. But as the director keeps things smooth in the first half, the twist takes you off guard. It takes time to grow on you, and it feels a bit rustic watching things unfold as the story takes another tangent altogether.

One gets a feeling that this twist should have been brought in a bit earlier to make things intense, but that does not happen. Also, the linear screenplay that takes the film back and forth in time is well thought out. But the film suffers in a few areas. There is a lot of family drama, which looks forced. Multiple scenes of family drama tend to become routine. But the director is clever enough to bring the film back on track with the twist.

Couple Friendly is not your regular romantic drama. It ends on a heavy note, and there will be a few who will be disappointed with the ending chosen. But for those who like romantic dramas with strong emotions, this film has passable moments that keep you engaged. Couple Friendly is an honest attempt to redefine romantic dramas in today’s age and time.

Final Verdict: Interesting romantic drama

Rating: 2.75/5

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