Hi Nanna movie review

Hi Nanna

Summary:

Overall: 9.25/10

No spoilers.

Definitely the best movie of the year 2023 I've seen. A must watch (unless you specifically don't like emotional films).

Beautiful, emotional film with stellar performances from the trio of Mrunal, Nani and kid Kiara, backed up by excellent music/songs headed by Hesham Abdul Wahab. While the father daughter bond between Viraj/Mahi and the love story is so visible, what might get understated is the tremendous bond that develops between Yashna and Mahi. Love in various forms finds its way through adversity. Main thing that pulls the movie down a bit is that the story while good, isn't great per se - reuses quite a few old seen stuff, is predictable in many places and character sketches could've been tighter. Story is a little on the slower side, but perfectly fine for me.

Details:

Yashna(Mrunal) saves the kid Mahi (Kiara) from an accident. They both force the father Viraj (Nani) to fulfill his promise to Mahi about telling the story of her mother. As Mahi hasn't seen a picture of her mother, it kicks off with Mahi imagining Yashna as her mother Varsha. Hence Mrunal playing both the roles - Yashna and Varsha(for atleast most part).

Nani as Viraj: 9.5/10. Stellar emotional performance as father, lover/chemistry and in general. Nani performance wheelhouse. The scene that probably stands out the most from him is already there in the trailer. where he asks his daughter Mahi where he went wrong, was his love not enough. The -0.5 is for a couple of scenes where there could have been a tad more expressions and character sketch could've been a little tighter.

Mrunal as Yashna/Varsha: 10/10. My impression in the 1st watch was that this was a tremendous performance by Mrunal, but a little below that in Sita Ramam. Coloured mainly by the character sketch. Took me a while to reconcile with the character sketch. Thanks to the reconciliation, on the 2nd watch, noticed a couple more subtly well done things by Mrunal and was able to enjoy the performance more. Multiple shades and many emotions - Mrunal absolutely killed it. There are actors/actresses better at dialogue delivery than Mrunal, but its tough to find anyone as good as her right now as far as emoting through eyes and expressions go.

Combining the roles of Yashna/Varsha here: The freshness, enthusiasm and mischievouness at the intro (freshness and enthusiasm stands out the most for me - as new from her in a role), the affected child of divorced parents,the formation of the bond with Mahi, the love chemistry with Nani's Viraj, the fight scenes, the hilarious drunk scene (both Nani and Mrunal killed it there), to the doubts, the resolve etc. Comfortable enough to say that this performance in Hi Nanna IS on the level of her performance in Sita Ramam. Like the character of Sita Mahalakshmi more. Still not 100% on board with the character sketch in Hi Nanna - its what prevents from a bonus 10+ rating here. Mrunal looks absolutely beautiful once again in Hi Nanna btw.

Kid Kiara as Mahi: for her age, a 10/10. Absolute nailed her performance and so adorable. The emotions, the mischief. A couple of scenes stand out - when she asks her father to stop the story (already in the trailer) and the one towards the end (when she finds out the truth) - the 2nd one just unbelievable.

Music/songs: 9.75/10. For emotional story, music/songs are important. Hesham Abdul Wahab and team have done an amazing job. Ammadi was my favorite, but Idhe Idhe is really special as well.

Story: 7.5 to 8/10: Story is good, but not great. Love in various forms finding its way through adversity is all good, but as I mentioned, uses some far too convenient and or cliche stuff. The optimism is too heightened at one point (you'll know it when you see it). It keeps fiddling around with will it happen, won't it (you'll know when you see it). The character sketches could be a little better. Story is atleast somewhat predictable. I did like the twist at the end though - did not see that coming. Nice word play with "65 Roses".

Support cast: 9/10. Priyadarshi nails it as Viraj's friend Justin. Support for Viraj and the comic relief. The comedy in the film is not too overt, but its understated nature makes it hilarious. Jayaram as Mahi's grandfather, staying with Viraj, plays his role well and there is something special in the end - which I liked very much. The dog Pluto plays a significant role. The grownup version (Charlie) and younger versions were both adorable and did very well.

Shruti Hassan is in a cameo role. The party song Odiyamma could have been a little less item-ish IMO. The rest of the support cast, including those playing Mahi's grandmother (spoilt, rich, villanious!), Yashna's fiance (Angad Bedi) etc. have done their job well.

Shoutout for:

Director Shouryuv: Very good work for debut film, especially with the casting - couldn't have got it better.

Photography/Scenary: Film shot in sceneic places. So makes for excellent viewing with the excellent photography.

Chinmayi: For doing an excellent job of dubbing for Mrunal in Telugu.