'Uppena' Review and Rating: Vaishnav Tej and Krithi Shetty mark decent debut

Uppena, written and directed by Bucchi Babu Sana, is the tale of two lovers from different castes and social strata who end up falling in love, set in Kakinada. Uppena not only marks the debut of the leads, Vaishnav Tej and Krithi Shetty but is also Bucchi Babu's first film as a director. The music for the movie was scored by Devi Sri Prasad and has Sukumar as one of its producers.

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What's the plot?

Vaishnav Tej plays Aasi, a fisherman, who is in love with someone who is conventionally out of his league. Krithi Shetty plays Kotagiri Sangeeta, or as people fondly refer to her, Bebamma. Bebamma is the village biggie's daughter, and hence, her love for Aasi is forbidden. Vijay Sethupathi plays the role of Bebamma's father, who is feared by everyone and he wants it to be that way. Without giving too much away, one thing about the movie is that the film has all the shades of a forbidden love story. However, it is the ending that you never see coming.

What works?

As soon as the film starts, you know that writer-director Bucchi Babu has gotten a few things right. The characters and the dialogues are honest to the backdrop of Kakinada, and not brutally exaggerated. The performances by Krithi Shetty and Vaishnav Tej are commendable, especially considering they are debutantes. Vijay Sethupathi is a flawless performer. Needless to say, he transcends his excellence in this role too. There are some beautiful parallels drawn between the sea and life that are not missable. Apart from this, the film shines in its second half and redeems itself in the climax. 

What doesn't?

The first half of the film seems predictable, given that the premise is overdone. Uppena also suffers from a long runtime, which could easily be edited. Apart from this, the voice of Vijay Sethupathi in this film took some getting used to. DSP does a decent job with his music. But you have heard his other albums, this fades in comparison. Uppena also has shades of Sukumar's Rangasthalam at times. This is not surprising since he is one of the producers of Uppena.

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Final thoughts

Uppena might have a long-drawn first half, but it does justice to our time invested, during the second half. It is certainly one of those films that are not great but still make for a good watch. Uppena's rating is a little tricky, given that it is the perfect combination of all the good and bad elements in movies. All in all, the movie is a good watch, but do not go in with too many expectations. It is the climax that gives the movie a refreshing feel. 

Uppena Rating (out of 5)

Given that Uppena is a first for the director and the lead actors, the movie does a good job. Bucchi Babu is a great storyteller and the actors have a lot of potentials, bringing the Uppena movie's rating to 3/5.