National award-winning writer Sandeep Raj of Color Photo fame has submitted a story for another film titled Mukhachitram. Directed by Gangadhar, the film hit the silver screens today. Let's see how it goes.
Story: The film opens with the introduction of Dr Rajkumar (Vikas Vasista), a plastic surgeon from Hyderabad. Through a middleman, he finds the bio of Mahathi (Priya Vadlamani), a traditional girl from Vijayawada. She then goes to Rajkumar Mahathi's house and convinces his father to marry her. A few months before the marriage, Mahathi dies suddenly. Not wanting to miss his wife's memories, Dr. Rajkumar decides to replace her face with his friend Maya (Ayesha Khan). Who is Maya? What is his story? What is Dr. Rajkumar's intention to replace Maya's original face with Mahathi is crucial.
Performances: Newcomer Vikas Vasista has done a decent job as Dr Rajkumar. Be it dialogue or facial expressions, Vikas tried to bring out the multi-dimensional aspects of his character convincingly.
Young actress Priya Vadlamani is cute as a kind lady on screen and has done well in a multi-layered role. His screen presence brings depth in several key episodes in the second half. Actress Ayesha Khan is good with her given lead role. Chaitanya Rao of 30Weds20 fame gave a good performance in his limited role.
Young hero Vishwak Sen is good in a cameo as a lawyer. Veteran actor Ravishankar is decent in the role of a criminal lawyer. Other supporting artists are good in their roles.
Technical Features: Kaala Bhairava music is good as its background score is well recorded. Though there are few songs in the film, they are situational.
Photography is good. The editing job is decent, but not up to par. The dialogues during the last thirty minutes are applaudable. The production design is good and so are the production values.
Analysis: Writer Sandeep Raj's intention to write the story from a woman's point of view is good, but he could have worked harder to present the subject in a better way.
After all the twists are revealed halfway through the second half, things seem predictable in the pre-climax and climax sections. While director Gangadhar has done his job perfectly, the gaps in the story can be a drawback for him.
To sum it up, Mukhachitram has a good concept, but the lack of interesting proceedings comes as a major downside. Although Priya Vadlamani gives a good performance in the lead role, the watered down presentation makes the film below average viewing.
Verdict: Not impressive!