‘Ye Maaya Chesaavu’ is unlike any desi romantic comedy, with a vision so wondrously off-kilter that you’ll be swept off your feet by it, even if you don’t fall in love at first sight. The film plays like a writer’s scrap pile of good ideas, personal growing up experiences, and love for masala movies all mixed together in one project that director Gautham Menon seems to have made for the pure fun of it.This offbeat Telugu feature, starring newbies Naga Chaitanya and Samantha is consistently interesting, always intelligent and surprisingly provocative in the most unexpected of ways. No doubt ‘Ye Maaya Chesave’ is a very idiosyncratic take on the genre, but it works because of Menon’s ability to challenge viewer expectations. The product is joyfully alive with possibility, from a filmmaker willing to take big gambles and force them to pay off, and with a lead actor (Chaitanya) who has the courage to redefine his dubious ‘Josh’ image. ‘Ye Maaya Chesave’ is easily one of the best and most exciting Telugu movies of all time, it signals the arrival of a metamorphosis in the tired, often tread desi romantic fillum formula.The force of the film derives from its interesting characters and the unconventional romantic angle that we have come to love and adore. Boy (Naga Chaitanya) is a college grad with dreams of becoming a filmmaker. He is besotted by his upstairs neighbour (Samantha) who happens to be a tad older and a Malayali Christian. Girl too falls for him, but her father fixes her marriage. She can’t go against her family, he can do little about it. The remainder of the story follows the Boy’s grit and journey towards achieving his dream of becoming an acclaimed film director, and that’s where the originality sets in. Sure, there are some moments that are disappointingly undernourished but they don’t outweigh the ones with sheer brilliance.AR Rahman’s soundtrack is magical, and together with the gorgeous imagery (M Paramahamsa, Rajeevan) it serves for a visual song of vulnerability, with a rhythm vaulting from discord to harmony and back again in vibrating organic-colored tones, as if the whole film were breathing on its own. ’Ee Hridayam’ in particular is extraordinary what with its swoony lyricism and unearthly vocals. Naga Chaitanya has evolved well post ‘Josh’, and has undoubtedly learned a lot from the maverick director Menon. Samantha’s character is not entirely convincing but her screen presence certainly is.
Final verdict? ‘Ye Maaya Chesave is a giddy delight. Its effect is intoxicating. Anyone in need of some superior escapism should see it straightaway.
