Month Of Madhu Movie Review- Telugu (2023)

Movie- Month Of Madhu (2023)

Director- Srikanth Nagoti

Producer-  Yashwanth

Cast- Naveen Chandra, Swathi Reddy, Shreya Navile & Others

Music- Achu Rajamani

Editor- Ravikanth Perepu

Cinematography- Rajeev Dharavath

Streaming Platform- Aha Video

Language- Telugu

Censor- 'A' (Adult Content)

3.5/5

FEEL GOOD & HEARTFELT 💕!

01. All about ' Month of Madhu '

Month Of Madhu is a recent Telugu outing that has received mixed to negative reviews both on theaters & streaming platform. But according to me it's a feel good & a beautiful movie with many heartfelt moments. Someone who's claiming it to be dull, feeble & lag sincerely didn't understand the film, that's it. 

Movie is all about three lead characters that encounter various phases in their lives & it's all about their relationship, love, separation, feelings, realizations & endings. So, in such a film what can one expect for action or drama or something else. It's a plain film with no twists, drama or hype. Only very few can have a heart to feel the film. If you loved the film, consider yourself as rear & lucky to have a unique taste & heart. 

Coming to the film, it's mostly about Madhusudhan Rao/Madhu (Naveen Chandra) & Lekha (Swathi Reddy) who are two contrary characters & still fall in love & also make love within no time until they realise that they have gone too far that too unknowingly. The movie opens with Lekha & Madhu worried about becoming parents even before marriage & abruptly cut right there & 20 years later from there, there's an NRI- Madhumathi/Madhu (Shreya Navile) who comes to India to attend her cousin's marriage & she's a social freak. Her extra open-ness & too broad minded attitude is a big problem to her fellow beings including her mother. She believes that Americans have a problem with her native being India & Indians have a problem with her upbringing & style being American & she feels lost & is all alone fighting to prove that she belongs to none, but it is her space, her life, her rules & her body. 

In such a free spirited attitude Madhu encounters different types of persons & problems too. Her mother obviously is annoyed with her all the time. She gets in friends with a widowed yoga teacher & Daksh- a fellow class member. And also Madhu feels that 'Sex' is a very special feeling & it happens with that very one special person only. After many date trails with many males, she finds Daksh as that one special person. But, unfortunately Daksh has no feelings of love or affection towards the portly, freaky NRI girl but only uses her for his sensual quests (which is a very common thing in today's generation) as a part of their dating cycle. Madhu is dejected. 

On the other hand, we have Lekha working in a hospital as an diagnostic lab assistant who's already separated from Madhu due to his temperament issues & unambitious attitude, who's also a drunkard & hangs out with a group of filthy friends who indulge themselves in petty fights for just pass times sake. She's seeking divorce from his hot tempered husband & he keeps on denying her requests. So, how Madhu realizes that world is for her & how she sees it makes a difference & what happened in between Madhu & Lekha is something that you have to watch in the film. 

02. What is to root on this film?

You have to watch the film for getting into a wonderful feeling that has warmth in it. The characters are so perfect that each of them have something to tell. It is like a very great balance in the story by bringing in two different phases of two characters & one complete different story of the NRI too. 

Lekha & Madhu loved each other so much that they never cared how they even  became parents & why they went to abort the little creation too. But, what made Lekha hold on her decision to get separated from her husband in whatsoever case, is something so commendable. It's director's brilliance to show such realistic things on screen. It happens with almost everyone here, such a phase is a part of every love story. But, here's no drama or extravaganza to put up an amusing ending, the director just shows the reality & that's really scary from film department's view, coz who has the guts to put up such a story on screen? So, director wins here. 

03. What more from Month of Madhu?

The scenes with very minimal background score & no unwanted edits or frames, & supported only by few semi-classical scores or few raps sum up the music department in this film & that's one more experimentation. How lovely is that 'Omal Thinkal' track (a popular Malayalam composition), each time that track played on screen, I lost my mind! 

Editing too was too little, much of the film appeared like a raw- unfinished cut & I believe that was also intentional thing to bring in that natural instinct. 

Cinematography was top notch according to me. This is the best way that Vizag was ever captured in frames. In every shot & frame one can find the director's involvement. Especially the scenes where he just juxtapositions the kitchen scenes in first half & later, the intermission & climax again both on Swathis' frames. 

04. Performances.

Swathi Reddy as Lekha poses some great performances ever here. She's just that one character specially written for this role. She's that innocent, helpless little young girl when she's in love with Madhu & again she's dull, feeble, weak, hopeless woman in another phase of her life. Her portrayal wins hearts. 

Naveen Chandra as Madhu is yet another asset to the film. He too stances a beardless mustache with a nice physique for the first phase of his life in the film & completely contrary - he appears with a paunch & filthy outfit for the rest of the film. 

05. Finally!!!

MoM is a beautiful film in & all. If you have a varied & unique taste, you'll like the film. Otherwise it's not your cup of tea. You can ask whether if this film is at no faults at all, answer is no! Yes, film has it's faults, like the lag is always pellucid, the dullness is there, BGM isn't there at all in many junctures, the typical way of telling a story by abruptly cutting it at every frame is a nuisance to a normal viewer who wants to know everything in a chronology only. But, every fault here in the film is intentional, the director wants to showcase that he can make a film in such different manner by just telling a story in his way, & no offence there. 

So, here's a partial recommendation, to all those who enjoy these slow Malayalam kind heartfelt stories, this is for you. Otherwise, it's a trash for others. My verdict is, I just loved the film.