The Telugu audiences seem to be in a good mood and Oy! may just go on to be the DDLJ of Tollywood. Like an ice cream that starts with a soft, juicy cherry on the top to the
crunchy waffle at the end, Oy! is like a yummy dessert that lingers on in the mouth. Oy! manages to get its music right, those painfully romantic moments, wry humor, super smart dialogues and the overall feel bang on. Of course, there are a few clichés and stereotypes it could have
avoided but still...
The movie begins with an honest confession that it has been inspired by Eric Seagal’s Love Story and your mind quickly flashes images of a boy, a girl who is on the verge of death and the last few memorable moments. A director needs to have guts to say that upfront to audiences. We like it! The opening scenes, where they show the contrasts between Uday and Sandhya, score points for the director right there. Uday is the here-and-now guy who likes things short and sweet. He hates to prolong things lest they should become nasty later. Sandhya, however, wants it long lasting. Nothing short or small for her.
Uday falls for Sandhya at first sight because he finds her different from others. Even eccentric! She wears a formal salwar suit to a pub, likes to fight for her rights and is serious about everything in life. He follows her home and even gets into her home as a paying guest. After a few scenes of largesse – like talking to the goons who come to evacuate her from her home and helping her honor a commitment, he manages to gain a soft corner in her heart. But it is her on her birthday, by giving her 12 gifts – one for each month that he completes wins her over. This scene is a scream in the movie. He gives her a Happy Birthday wish on a ice plate (so that she has a cool life always), fresh flowers (to bring color into her life), perfume (so that she spreads fragrance like that), a box of toffees (so her life is always sweet), a packet of incense (so she can directly communicate with God), so on and so forth, and proposes his love to her as the 12th gift. She almost reciprocates her love when he gets to know that she is suffering from cancer. He jokingly tells her that the doc has diagnosed a dreadful disease and that she will die in one week, so she better have loads of fun. Sandhya doesn’t take his words seriously but nevertheless tells him that she has a host of things that she has always wanted to do. Admittedly some are clichéd like – eating bhelpuri, running away without paying money, going off to Varanasi etc. He does all that she wants him to do and the movie ends with smoothly with her passing away, but not before she also does a replay of gift gifting on his birthday. This scene, is again, another highlight in the movie. She also gives him 12 gifts, just like him. But Uday’s gifts are about instant gratification, Sandhya’s are those that stay forever. She gives him a plant which
grows with him (not flowers that wither in a day), a seashell that has music (in contrast to his IPod which dies with the battery), his birthday wishes etched on a piece of stone etc. Finally, she also confesses her
love and leaves him forever. The gifting episodes are painfully romantic and have been shot very tightly. No unnecessary melodrama or an overdose of emotion. Even the final death scene has been shot gracefully.
The pain is shown minus the drama and works majorly for the film.
Siddharth is the pivot of the movie and does his job well. However, by now, he has done this role way too many times – a rich spoilt brat falling for a seedha saadha girl. He’s been there and done that in Boys, Nuvvostante Neenoddantana, Bommarillu, Koncham Ishtam Koncham Kashtam and now Oy!. While he emotes well and never overdoes it, he should probably think of giving some tadka to his look. Maybe he should grow a beard, or sport a moustache or just get a spiky hair cut etc. He looks great in the title song (superbly sung by him) and in the Saradaga number. Shamili is a complete plain Jane in the movie and has an understated role. She is a photocopy of her sister Shalini. She needs to tone her body, even if she wants a serious look. She sports a lot of baby fat, especially near her arms, making her look older than what she is. The director should have avoided the clichés – glasses all the time, formal salwar kameez in every scene, a nasal drawl when she sighs – and given her a few moments to let go as well. And oh yes, directors should also think of phasing out those romantic clichés now. Why should only getting drenched in the rain be romantic? Why can’t being curled up in the bed while it rains and watching a comedy on TV be romantic? Why should eating Panipuri on a bundi be romantic and not a thali meal at a Sandarshini? To each his own I guess!
Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja conveys a variety of emotions and almost all of them have been shot
with great cinematography. Saradaga is the masterpiece of the movie. Oy! has a good beat and is already a chartbuster. The editing is slick, especially in the emotional scenes. The
dialogues are smart and witty. The comedy bits about the Insurance sector are hilarious. Krishnudu as Siddharth’s friend in T-shrits with graffiti and the Chatrapathi parody with Pradeep Rawat are good.
Overall, the movie is a good watch. 'Oy!' could become the catchword of this year with friends yelling to each other as 'Oy'. Incidentally, that is how Sandhya calls Uday when she has to catch his attention. Until another painfully romantic movie comes around, it is Yo to Oy!
