Until this point, we only know that he is Lavanya’s neighbour. Ten minutes into the movie, Anand reassures Lavanya’s aunt that he will take the responsibility of finding the perfect ‘Mahesh’ for Lavanya. This kind of narration was new to the audiences too. So, Anand breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audiences during the interval stretch made sense.

By the time the film moves to the interval, the characters take over.

Every primary character, except Mahesh, and most of the secondary characters are introduced to us through voiceover. It almost feels as if we’ve gone to a play where the host is setting up everything before introducing us to the characters. The film has a third person narrative style that starts with the narrator yelling at someone for inserting the wrong reel in the projector. The series of events that take place after Ram Babu’s story about him leading a double life are hysterical. Eventually Anand finds Mahesh/Ram Babu (Nani) and sets him up on a date with Lavanya. Eventually, her childhood friend Anand (Srinivas Avasarala) takes up the task. Lavanya deals with the news, and ultimately decides to get married only to someone whose name is Mahesh. The film begins with the news of Mahesh Babu getting married and all his female admirers being heartbroken. The film takes the same concept but makes it a lot more interesting and fun by making Lavanya (Swathi) obsessed with Superstar Mahesh Babu.

The original play is a comedy of errors involving one of the protagonists leading a double life under the name ‘Ernest’ and his love interest Gwendolen being smitten with his name. Swathi brought alive the bubbliness of Lavanya without making it seem annoying and Bhargavi fit the part of the innocent but naughty village girl. Srinivas Avasarala struck a chord with his gesturing and physicality. Nani, as the initially composed and cool guy who becomes a frustrated and confused person amidst chaos, was all charm and energy. The performances of the primary ensemble felt fresh. Swathi has already starred in a few films before this. The film marked the debut of Nani, Srinivas Avasarala and Bhargavi. Let’s take a look at why Ashta Chamma is a romcom many revisit.

Ashta chamma on 7th april hotstar