To the camera born!

'It is not a love story', the promos proclaim.

Nuvve Kavali has yesteryear child star Tarun alongside Richa Palot.

The two, in fact, faced the cameras together for a Fanta commercial shot by Rajeev Menon, before teaming up for this film.

Nuvve Kavali is a remake of the Kunjacko Boban- Shalini starrer Niram, in Malayalam.

The story revolves around Tarun and Richa, childhood buddies who share an easy, intimate friendship that continues as they grow up and enter college.

Sai Kiran plays a college boy who gets attracted to Richa, while Madhavi Sri in turn falls for Tarun. True to their relationship, the two tell each other of their little 'romances' and the friendship seemingly continues on course.

Yet, when Richa has to go out of town for a few days, Tarun begins to feel the pain of separation. And this, in turn, leads to the gradual realisation that he is in love with his childhood playmate.

But he refrains from expressing his love, fearing that it might ruin the friendship they share.

Matters reach a head when Richa confesses to him that Sai Kiran has proposed marriage and asks him for his advice. Tarun, unable to voice his true thoughts, leaves the decision to her.

Richa and Sai Kiran get engaged.

And then, realisation dawns on Richa that Tarun, her friend from toddler days, now means far more to her than that. Yet she, like Tarun, hesitates to speak, fearing rejection and the loss of their friendship.

How the tangled skein of emotions is unravelled is what the rest of the story is about.

What is most noticeable about the film is that Richa and Tarun, despite their debutant status, are very comfortable in front of the camera, their performances bearing comparison with the seasoned showing of Boban and Shalini in the Malayalam original.

Trivikram has scripted the dialogues just right to retain the original flavour, lacing comedy and emotion in perfect proportions. Hari's cinematography matches the mood and director Vijay Bhaskar comes in for special kudos for getting results out of a young cast and crew.

Koti returns after a hiatus with some very catchy songs. The climax perpetuates a cliche, yet the film on the whole is very easy viewing.

CREDITS
Cast: Tarun, Richa, Sai Kiran, M S Narayana, Giri Babu, Chelpati Rao, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, Kovai Sarala, Sudha, Rajeshwari
Director: Vijay Bhasker
Producer: Ramoji Rao
Co-Producer: Ravi Kishore
Dialogues: Trivikram
Music: Koti
Lyrics: Seetharama Shastry, Bhuvana Chandra
Camera: Hari Anumolu

Also read:
The Tarun interview
Roja Ramani on son Tarun