18 page review: Not a refreshing story

Film: 18 pages
Evaluation: 2.5/5

Signboard: GA2 images, Sukumar writings
Throw: Nikhil Siddhartha, Anupama Parameswaran, Ajay, Brahmaji, and others
a story: Sukumar
dialogues: Srikanth some
Musical: Gopi Sundar
Director of Photography: Vasanth
editor: Naveen Knowley
art: Ramana Vanka
Presenter: Allu Aravind
Producer: Bunny Fez
Screenplay and Direction: Palanti Surya Pratap
release date: December 23, 2022

The names of Allu Aravind, Sukumar, Bunny Vaas, successful pair Nikhil, and Anupama are enough to generate interest in ’18 Pages’. In addition, two songs became popular. Therefore, the movie generated positive buzz before the release.

Let’s see if the movie lives up to the expectations.

a story:

Siddhu (Nikhil Siddhartha) works as an application developer for a software company. A diary of 2019 written by a young woman named Nandini (Anupama Parameswaran) is discovered.

From her notes, Seidou learns that she values ​​face-to-face interaction with others over digital communication. Her journey to Hyderabad from her Andhra village was prompted by the need to provide cover for Venkatrao, a mutual friend of her grandfather.

Siddhu develops feelings for her after reading the magazine, and he travels to her hometown to finally meet her. Siddhu finds out from Nandini’s relatives that she was killed in a car accident a few months ago. Astonished by the news, he returns to Hyderabad.

Did she really die?

Artist Shows:

Nikhil Siddharth gives a compelling performance as a young man who falls in love with a girl he has never seen or met. But he does not have a fixed appearance; Instead, it appears to be out of shape on a few key points.

Anupama Parameswaran stars in the lead role.

Sarayu, in her role as Nikhil’s friend, delivers some humorous lines. The short cameo from Posani and Ajay are fine.

Technical excellence:

Gopi Sundar’s music is the main attraction. Be it the heart-breaking “Time Ivvu” or the musical number “Nannaya Raasina” or “Nee Valle Pilla”, all the songs fit perfectly with the overall theme of the movie.

Srikanth Vissa did a fair job with the dialogue. The story written by Sukumar seems old.

The movie has decent cinematography, but its visual style is inconsistent. Sometimes it seems… very old.

Highlights:
pre-interval sequence
two songs
Anupama Parameswaran

impediment:
Lack of contemporary feel
slow
superficial feelings

Analytics

Falling in love between a girl and a boy without ever having met is an ancient concept. Ajith’s film “Prema Lekha” dealt with the same theme. So, how does the hero accidentally falling in love with a girl by reading her diary become the plot of a novel? The bare bones of Sukumar’s story is interesting, but it doesn’t really capture the current times.

The script has some serious problems. If Nikhil Siddharth’s character falls in love with Anupama after reading her diary in one sitting (the whole thing is only 18 pages long, hence the title), we could see that happen. In the film, however, he appears excited after every turn of the page, reacting intensely to every incident he tells in the story as if it were happening at that very moment. It is difficult to imagine how the 2022 computer will respond to the dairy events of 2019.

He is also shown reading a page or two a day for a few days and then starts doing things like turning off social media apps etc., which Nandini did in 2019. This doesn’t seem like a normal reaction on the part of the character, but like a script writer’s shortcut.

Aside from this and other issues of logic, “18 Pages” grabs our attention right from the start. The initial events, such as Nikhil’s breakup with his girlfriend and his responses to Anupama’s diary, are interesting. The situations leading up to “Nannayya Raasina” are also fun. Another interesting episode in the film is the tension the hero feels when he suspects that she has married his neighbor.

However, aside from a few episodes, the sluggish narrative and unconvincing abduction drama hurt the flow. The second half is structured like a thriller, and when the real mystery is revealed, it’s utterly unconvincing. The reason given for the importance of the ‘cap’ is absurd and inconsequential. The final moments seem to deviate from the main theme. Many unbelievable events occur.

Fortunately, the film concludes in a much more convincing way.

In general, “18 Pages” succeeds only sporadically. The drama is frustrating and the love story does not resonate. There are some good songs, and the first half is pretty good, but overall it doesn’t feel very modern.

minimum: Only a few pages