Maro Charitra is a remake of a Telugu classic of the same name starring Kamal Haasan and Saritha, released in 1978. This was remade in Hindi in 1981 as Ek Duje Ke Liye.
Maro Charitra is based in the US. It’s the story of Balu (Varun Sandesh) and Swapna (Anitha). Balu, who is from a traditional Brahmin family, drops out of college and comes back home. Swapna is his non-Brahmin neighbour and her mother (Urvashi) is at loggerheads with Balu’s father (Prathap).
Balu and Swapna fall in love with each other. However the parents of both the families are against their marriage. In order to convince them, Balu and Swapna sign an agreement with their parents in the presence of the local cop-cum-pujari (Naresh).
As per this agreement, Balu and Swapna will not meet or contact each other for a year. At the end of it, if they still have the same feelings towards each other, they would go ahead and get married. How Balu and Swapna wade through all the obstacles and prove their love forms the rest of the story.
Varun Sandesh is OK as Balu. Anitha in her first movie is refreshing. She comes across as the Telugu girl-next-door, which is rare these days. Shradha Das is good in her short role. Urvashi as Swapna’s mother is annoyingly loud. Naresh with his US accent is average. The rest of the performances are routine.
The song Ye Teega Poovuno - a remake from the original - is good. Another remade song, Bale Bale Magadivoy is also hummable but nothing like the original pathbreaking number sung by L R Eshwari.
One aspect where the new version of Maro Charitra betters the original is in cinematography. The locales in the movie are good. The Niagara Falls shot, where the climax scene is shot, is breathtaking. Dialogues of the lead pair, especially in the second half where they talk about their love are not natural and too heavy. Lines of the parents are better and especially those of Balu’s mom that are short and humorous.
It is difficult to remake and better hit movies. Director Ravi Yadav’s attempt comes of as a mere 'copy + paste' of the original bettered in terms of colour, locations and cinematography. The script and the storyline are same original and are not adapted to the modern day scenario.
Writing a lover’s name on rocks and on the walls was fashionable 20-30 years ago and one finds it difficult to fathom a girl in the US doing that today.
There are a few good moments in the movie which appeal to the youth, but then it’s just that. The original released more than 30 years ago was a masterpiece. The title Maro Charitra is a misnomer for this movie, which has nothing new to offer. In fact, it is Ade Charitra (same story).
Critic: Raghu Chaitanya
Comments
0 comment