Movie: 18 pages
Review: 2.5/5
banner: GA2 Images, Sukumar Writings
Cast: Nikhil Siddhartha, Anupama Parameswaran, Ajay, Brahmaji and others
Story: Sukumar
dialogues: Srikanth Vissa
Music: Gopi Sundar
director of photography: A vasanth
Editor: Naveen Nooli
Art: Ramana Vanka
Presenter: Allu Aravind
Producer: Rabbit Vas
Screenplay and direction: Palanti Surya Pratap
Publication date: December 23, 2022
The names of Allu Aravind, Sukumar and Bunny Vaas, and the hit couple Nikhil and Anupama are enough to generate interest for “18 Pages”. In addition, two songs have become popular. Thus, the film has generated positive pre-release buzz.
Let’s see if the movie lives up to expectations.
Story:
Siddhu (Nikhil Siddhartha) works as an app developer for a software company. A 2019 diary written by a young woman named Nandini is discovered by him (Anupama Parameswaran).
Siddhu learns from her diary entries that she values face-to-face interaction with others over communication through digital means. Her journey to Hyderabad from her village in Andhra was dictated by the need to provide a cover for Venkatrao, a mutual friend of her grandfather.
Siddhu develops feelings for her after reading the diary, and he travels to her hometown to finally meet her. Siddhu learns from Nandini’s relatives that she died in a car accident a few months ago. Astonished by the news, he goes back to Hyderabad.
Did she really die?
Performances by artists:
Nikhil Siddharth gives a convincing performance as a young man who falls in love with a girl he has never seen or met. But he doesn’t have a consistent look; rather, he seems to be out of shape in a few key spots.
Anupama Parameswaran stars in the role of the heroine.
Sarayu, in her role as Nikhil’s friend, delivers some humorous lines. Brief cameos from Posani and Ajay are fine.
Technical excellence:
Gopi Sundar’s music is the main attraction. Be it the heartbreaking song “Time Ivvu” or the melodious song “Nannaya Raasina” or “Nee Valle Pilla”, all the songs fit the overall theme of the movie perfectly.
Srikanth Vissa has done a good job with the dialogue. The story Sukumar has written feels dated.
The film has decent cinematography, but the visual style is inconsistent. Sometimes it just seems so… old.
Highlights:
Pre-Interval Series
Two songs
Anupama Paramesvaran
Disadvantage:
Lack of contemporary feel
Slow pace
Superficial emotions
Analysis
A girl and a boy falling in love without ever meeting is an old concept. Ajith’s “Prema Lekha” dealt with the same subject. So, how does a hero who accidentally falls in love with a girl by reading her diary become a new storyline? The bare bones of Sukumar’s story are interesting, but they don’t represent the current time.
The script has some serious issues. If Nikhil Siddharth’s character fell in love with Anupama after reading her diary in one sitting (the whole thing is only 18 pages long, hence the title), we could see that happen. However, in the film, he is shown to get excited after every turn of the page and react wildly to every incident related in the story as if it were happening at that very moment. It’s hard to imagine how a 2022 computer expert like him would react to events in the dairy of 2019.
He has also been shown to read a page or two a day for a few days and then start doing things like turning off social media apps, etc. That’s what Nandini did in 2019. This doesn’t feel like a natural reaction on your part of the character, but rather as a screenwriter’s shortcut.
Apart from these and other logical things, “18 Pages” grabs our attention right from the start. The early events, such as Nikhl’s breakup with his girlfriend and his reactions to Anupama’s diary, are interesting. The situations leading up to the song “Nannayya Raasina” are fun too. Another interesting episode in the movie is the tension the hero feels when he suspects that she married his neighbor.
However, apart from a few episodes, the sluggish story and unconvincing kidnapping drama hurt the flow. The second half is structured like a thriller, and when the true mystery is revealed, it’s totally unconvincing. The reason given for the importance of a “cover” is ridiculous and illogical. The closing moments seem to deviate from the main theme. Many improbable events take place.
Fortunately, the film ends in a more convincing way.
In general, “18 Pages” succeeds only occasionally; the drama is underwhelming and the love story doesn’t resonate. It has some good songs on it and the first half is pretty good, but overall it just doesn’t feel very modern.
What it comes down to: Only a few pages
