suresh kavirayani
sureshkavirayani@gmail.com
Sree Vishnu delivered a successful hit Samajavaragamana, a comedy backdrop, in 2023. After that, he did two films—one an experiment—but both didn’t do well. Now, he is back to comedy once again with Single, where the trailer became trending because of the controversial dialogues related to the Manchu family. Caarthik Raju is the director, while Ketika Sharma and Ivana play the female leads. Here is the story and how it unfolds.
Story
Vijay (Sree Vishnu) works in a bank’s insurance section and is single, desperately seeking a girlfriend. One day, he sees a girl, Purva (Ketika Sharma), on a Metro train and instantly falls in love. He follows her and finds out that she works at a luxury car showroom. Pretending to be a customer, he visits the showroom regularly to meet her. However, she eventually discovers he lied to her. To teach him a lesson, she pretends to like him and fakes being in love with him.
Meanwhile, Harini (Ivana) is following Vijay and confesses her love. Vijay, however, shows no interest in Harini and rightly rejects her. When he enquires about Harini, he discovers a shocking secret. What is Harini’s secret and what does Vijay decide to do? What happens to Purva—does she realize her feelings and marry Vijay? To know the answers, you’ll have to watch Single.
Analysis
Sree Vishnu’s experimental film Swag, in which he played five roles, was a huge flop. Before that, he did Om Bheem Bush, where he played a dual role—another failure. His earlier comedy film Samajavaragamana, however, was a box-office success. So, the actor decided to return to comedy with Single.
Caarthik Raju, who doesn’t know Telugu, is the writer and director. When you want to make an entertaining film, you can’t just throw in some jokes circulating on social media or the internet. A storyline is essential. In Single, there’s no real story—the protagonist is simply single and desperate for a girlfriend. He falls in love instantly upon seeing a girl, as is the case in many Telugu films.
From that point on, the director shows how the protagonist tries to impress the girl, with a few scattered scenes. Meanwhile, another girl, Harini (Ivana), follows Vijay and falls for him. However, Sree Vishnu and Ivana lack any on-screen chemistry. She looks more like his younger sister and there’s even a line where Sree Vishnu tells her, “You look very short and if I want to talk to you, I have to bend down.” Throughout the film, he body-shames her, emphasising how young she looks. It’s hard to understand the casting logic behind including her and giving such rude dialogues to the protagonist.
More than that, Sree Vishnu is cringe-worthy from start to finish, both in diction and dialogue delivery. If he had spoken normally with a few cringe lines sprinkled in, it might have worked. But he maintains a cringe tone throughout, making it hard to watch after a while.
Even in the second half, the director neglects the storyline and relies on lame jokes. Purva, played by Ketika Sharma, pretends to love Vijay and manipulates him into spending money unnecessarily. These dragged-out scenes become boring due to the lack of a solid narrative.
One decent scene occurs in the second half when Vijay discovers that his close friend, played by Vennela Kishore, is leaking information about him. A few jokes here and there work, but overall, the film falls flat with no story or emotional depth. The climax also misfires, overloaded with too many guest appearances.
Performances
Sree Vishnu looks good, but his chemistry with the female leads doesn’t work. His comedy timing in Samajavaragamana was on point, but here his dialogue delivery is off as he maintains the same cringe tone throughout. He also mimics many actors’ dialogues.
Vennela Kishore appears throughout the film and delivers a few laughs, but his role feels repetitive, similar to many of his previous films. Ketika Sharma looks pretty, but her character lacks strength. Ivana appears very young and her pairing with Sree Vishnu doesn’t work at all. However, she is hyperactive and does justice to her role.
Rajendra Prasad has a cameo, but it leaves no impact. VT Ganesh is also present, but his character is routine and uninteresting.
Technical Aspects
On the technical front, the film has good production values. The cinematography is visually appealing, showcasing Hyderabad’s locations effectively. The music, however, is a major drawback. Both the songs and background score are below average. Dialogues are partly entertaining, as many are lifted from social media or internet sources.
Verdict
Single offers a few laughs here and there thanks to some jokes. However, it lacks a storyline, emotional content, and meaningful character chemistry. The director seems to have aimed for a joke-driven film, but forgot to add a plot. The much-hyped satirical lines related to the Manchu family—which helped the trailer trend—were ultimately removed from the film.
Cast: Sree Vishnu, Ketika Sharma, Ivana, Vennela Kishore, VT Ganesh, Rajendra Prasad, Narne Nithin, and others
Music Director: Vishal Chandrasekhar
Cinematographer: R. Velraj ISC
Producers: Vidya Koppineedi, Bhanu Pratap, and Riyaz Chowdary
Writer and Director: Caarthik Raju
Rating: 2/5
