Fidaa Movie Review - weighs on Sai Pallavi's solid performance 

Hari

Love stories are usually told from the hero’s perspective; the Romeo within him goes on a soul mate hunt, his antics, friendly moments and finally when cupid strikes, its romance in the air and our hero goes on a duet spree. Well Fidaa is some of these, but it’s probably a first love story that dwells more on the female perspective, her agonizing want of love and family, dealt in a simple yet fresh manner. Sai Pallavi could not have asked for a better debut in Fidaa. It would be wrong to say she “stole” the thunder away from Varun Tej, for the actor lets her take the lead with grace. Sekhar Kammula known for his elegant storytelling has brought back little known emotions back to life with Fidaa.

Story and Direction

Fidaa is a simple love story without a doubt; Sekhar captures those realistic emotions of a couple in love and how quickly a few misunderstandings could escalate to separation and pain. The story begins when Varun and family return to India in search of a perfect bride for his brother and they fix his marriage with Sai Pallavi’s sister (Saranya) in the simple town of Bhanswada. The setting is quite authentic - the happily bonding sisters and their simplistic conversations are kept light hearted. They also show how high spirited, bold and self-made girl Sai Pallavi is. Sekhar keeps focusing on her character, even though the film continues to evolve with the supporting cast. As the family gets ready for the marriage, Varun and Sai Pallavi develop a liking for each other but do not reveal their love. 

What’s fresh in Fidaa is the simplistic approach to each sequence. However after spending sweet time on the characters and love in the first half, Sekhar somehow loses steam in the second by going for repetitive drama. The misunderstanding between the lead characters is not kept in best light and the reasoning for their distance told in an unconvincing way. As Varun departs to US without revealing his love, the conflicts become worse and it requires some strong dialogues sequences to drive home their conflict of interest, sadly it is not the case. The absence of a strong supporting cast and clumsy direction becomes very evident in the second half that gives away the first half’s brilliance. 

Performance

In every aspect the film centers on Sai Pallavi who is the heart, soul and freshness in Fidaa. Kudos to the director for making the best use of such an actress. She gets to dance, emote, laugh, crack a joke, and give witty replies and what not. If she is the spine of Fidaa, Varun certainly is the Umbrella of the movie. He shines as that NRI boy who confuses himself when it comes to love and he handles reluctance in a silly yet enjoyable style. The rest of the cast perform what is intended of them even though its Varun and Sai Pallavi’s show all the way.

Technicality

To keep it fresh and simple, the camera work from Vijay Kumar is clean as he manages to capture the realistic Telangana town behind the lens as it is. The already hit Vacchindi is a delight to watch. Songs and BGM give the movie a solid push. Barring the slow screenplay with repeat drama of conflict in the second half, the movie is a decent entertainer.

Bottom Line :

Fidaa is a simple yet fresh love story that rides high on the performance of Sai Pallavi.

Rating: 3/5