‘Chaavu Kaburu Challaga’ review: This Karthikeya, Lavanya Tripathi and Aamani film doesn’t make a mark

Basthi Balaraju (Karthikeya) drives a hearse and his mother (Aamani) sells corn for a living. Married at 14, her son, born a year later followed by her husband becoming paralytic, she has seen it all. While the mother and son share a good rapport, sharing drinks and troubles, Balaraju also spends time stalking nurse Mallika (Lavanya), professing love. The hitch here is he proposes to Mallika on the same day he is summoned to take the latter’s husband to the graveyard. The widow is initially shocked, perplexed, angry but over a period of time begins to understand him.

Director Kaushik Pegallapati shows Aamani dating a television mechanic (Srikanth Iyengar) and Balaraju wooing a woman whose husband had just died. The director, instead of making this the peg of the film, dilutes the story. When Balaraju picks up a fight with his mother, she sits him down and explains her side of the story but there is no argument or debate as to why she cannot have a relationship with someone else other than her husband. He, however, stresses that one should hold memories of the past but shouldn’t let that effect the present. There is an overdose of Karthikeya and he is there in almost every frame.

The story of Chaavu Kaburu Challaga (CKC) had great scope to elevate sentimental scenes but the actors fail in delivering the right expressions. Barring Murali Sharma, Srikanth Iyengar, the rest of the cast don’t convey their pain well. The songs are well placed, lyrics are wonderfully written and dialogues sparkle here and there. “He is my new daddy,” says Karthikeya while introducing Srikanth Iyengar to someone. The narration is uneven, at times we feel the conflict point in the story is missing which is why we don’t empathise with anyone. Suneel Reddy and Karm Chawla’s work behind the camera is a treat. Production design is apt.

There was lot of room for melodrama and debate revolving Aamani which could have taken the film to another level but that doesn’t happen. Director of CKC shows promise but doesn’t quite capitalise on the novel points in his story.