How long has it been since we had an original entertaining romantic comedy coming out from Indian Cinema? If we count every movie making industry from hindi to tamil to telugu to kannada to malayalam, it’s been atleast 6 to 7 years since we’ve watched a feel good romantic comedy.
If done right, there’s no better genre than a romantic comedy. No other genre ages as well as rom-coms simply because of the size of audience it caters to. Everyone from kids to senior citizens can enjoy a well made romantic comedy. Let us go back and take a look at the years that gave us iconic rom-coms in several Indian movie industries. Om Shanti Oshana released in the year 2014, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani in the year 2013, Kirik Party in the year 2016, Kaadhalum Kadandhu Pogum in the year 2016 and Pelli Choopulu in the year 2016.
Literally speaking there’s been a drought of rom-coms since the year 2016 and that makes around 6 years since a watchable rom-com came out. We think ‘Ante Sundaraniki‘ starring Nani and Nazriya Nazim would be sort of reviving the long forgotten genre. Here’s why we think so?
The Premise
‘Ante Sundaraniki’ revolves around the story of Sundara, a Brahmin boy who falls for Leela, a Christian girl. Knowing of his over-bearing family’s disapproval, he fetches a plan to convince his parents. He trains Leela to be a Brahmin and brings her home. Now this is a very tried, tested and universal theme for rom-coms especially for a desi audience. Family’s disapproval of a funny and adorable couple and then the patching up.. A classic recipe that can never go wrong.
The Chemistry
The film stars Nani and Nazriya Nazim as Sundara and Leela. Nazriya’s and Nani’s comedic timing needs no introduction. If in doubt, we recommend Om Shanti Oshana and Bangalore Days to see how Nazriya fits in the genre like a cookie. Similarly, Nani is the show-stealer in Ninu Kori and Yevade Subramanyam. He is well known for his comic timing. Glimpses of Nani-Nazriya pairing in the trailer and songs of ‘Ante Sundaraniki’ itself screams of ‘IT’ rom-com couple. A rom-com is as good as the chemistry of its lead couple.
The Supporting Cast
The third pillar of rom-com genre is the Supporting cast and crew. If there are’nt well written supporting characters in a romantic comedy, the film wouldn’t simply work no matter how good the premise is. ‘Ante Sundaraniki’ has seasoned actors like Naresh, Rohini, Nadiya, N. Alagan Perumal, Harshavardhan, Rahul Ramakrishna, Aruna Bhikshu, Tanvi Ram, Vinny etc.
The Writer-Director
The film is written and directed by Vivek Athreya whose debut film ‘Mental Madhilo’ (2017) and sophomore outing ‘Brochevarevarura’ (2019) have over the years gained a huge following. Not only is Brochevarevarura one of those generation defining Telugu films of the last decade, it’s also appreciated for it’s effortless humour in the writing. The captain of ‘Ante Sundaraniki’ itself is one of the reasons we are sure of the film doing it’s best for the rom-com genre.