November 27, 2020
2 mins read

Middle-Class Melodies: Feel the regular humdrum of life

Middle Class Melodies (Telugu film with subtitles, on Amazon Prime); Cast: Anand Deverakonda, Varsha Bollamma, Goparaju Ramana, Prabhavathi Varma, Chaitanya Garikipati, Divya Sripada; Direction: Vinod Ananthoju; Rating: * * * (three stars)
At first you would think Vijay Deverakonda dubbed for him. Anand Deverakonda does sound a lot like his superstar brother, blame it on genetics more than anything else. For all other practical purposes, going by what you see here, Anand seems focussed on carving a very different space from the Vijay Deverakonda trademark.
Middle Class Melodies — don’t go by the title — is not a musical, nor does it have any reference to melody. The title is used to convey a feel of the regular humdrum of life. For a more direct impact, perhaps, Middle Class Chutney (or Middle Class Flavours?) might have seemed more apt, considering the film is a comedy drama about a young man’s obsession to whip up the perfect Bombay Chutney, and his dream to set up an eatery.

Anand Deverakonda plays Raghava, a hothead who takes pride in whipping up the perfect Bombay Chutney. While his temper seems to be a legacy of his father (Goparaju Ramana), Raghava picked up the nuances of preparing his special dish from his mother (Surabhi Prabhavathi). He dreams of opening a tiffin centre from where he can sell his Chutney, and he hopes his Bombay Chutney will make him famous one day and be the pride of Guntur, his hometown.


Vinod Ananthoju’s film is narrated simply and with adequate humour, throwing in the obvious message about the importance of chasing one’s dreams. Writer Janardhan Pasumarthi’s focus seems primarily on setting up a feel-good experience for the audience, and little else.

For that reason, the film never really had much of a story to tell and tends to drag in portions. Ananthoju, Pasumarthi and company come up with interesting characters and situations that maintain a feel-good mood all through.

In turn, interesting characters translate to good performances. Anand Deverakonda is clearly not cut out for larger-than-life outings, but he does impress as the guy next door with a big dream.

With roles increasingly being written around realism and authentic mannerisms, this is a great time for Anand to be labelled a promising young actor. Varsha Bollamma looks apt for her role of Sandhya, while most others in the cast are adequate. Goparaju Ramana as Raghava’s father is truly impressive.

Middle Class Melodies leaves you in a happy space, never mind the film’s shortcoming.

Also Read-Intersecting Style And Comfort

Previous Story

Effective Ideas For Seasonal Home Decor

Next Story

‘OTT services have a very different set of audience’

Latest from Bollywood

Hrithik, NTR Jr Promote Separately

In War (2019), Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff only came together publicly during the success bash, maintaining the mystery around their face-off In a strategic move to heighten audience anticipation, the makers

Aamir Khan Headlines Melbourne Fest

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan is all set to headline the 16th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) as the chief guest. The actor is excited to showcase some of his most cherished

Floral Crowns of Glam

Bollywood’s leading ladies have often turned to flowers to elevate their hairstyles, making floral hairdos an enduring fashion statement on and off the red carpet. These celebrities didn’t just accessorise—they inspired bridal

Kajol Channels Kali Power

Backed by Jio Studios and Devgn Films, Maa is produced by Ajay Devgn and Jyoti Subbarayan, with Kumar Mangat Pathak as co-producer Kajol delivers a fierce and emotionally charged performance in the

Nandita Das Seeks Partner

The actress said the weight of world events had affected her deeply, even disturbing her sleep. But she stressed the importance of staying engaged and contributing meaningfully, no matter how small the
Go toTop