Hi Nanna

 "Hi Nanna" (2023) is a family drama and a tear jerker in more than a single issue

 At the beginning we are introduced to a young girl, Mahi and her single father.  He happily reads stories to her at night.  She is disappointed that he refuses to tell her the story about her mother.  We are led to believe it must not be good because he is very adamant.  Another day she is walking their dog Pluto when he escapes and she chases after.  The dog is stopped by a new character, a woman who introduces herself to Mahi and in a short time learns the desire to learn about her mother is told.  The father shows up and in a short time Yasna shames the father to tell the mother's story.  The story is not all good.  Going any further would start to reveal the plot.

One key thing is that Mahi has cystic fibrosis which we are told is next to a death sentence at a young age. We sometimes see her with an oxygen mask at night, but mostly she appears "normal".

Gradually more details are piled on including a few coincidences and a few surprises.  This crude description doesn't do justice, but the story is very engaging.

Shouryuv was writer and director.  A few years back he presented the idea to a production studio that referred him to the eventual star, Nani who loved it.  Previously Shouryuv had only been an assistant director.  This was his first film as writer and director. 

Hesham Abdul Wahab composed the music.  The film score was re-recorded using artificial intelligence, the first such instance in India.  He had earned a degree in audio engineering.  He has 34 music department credits, most, but not all as playback singer.  He has 24 composing credits and 3 as an actor.  One song featured a favorite singer, Shakthisree Gopalan.

Sanu John Varughese was the cinematographer.   He has 22 credits including ""Karthik Calling Karthik" (2010), "David" (2013), "Hasee Toh Phasee" (2014), "Wazir" (2016), "Take-Off" (2017), "Badhaai Ho" (2018), "Shyam Singha Roy" (2021) and "Declaration" (2022). Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/02/take-off-brutality-in-tikrit.html

Praveen Anthony was the editor.  He has 18 credits.

Nani played Viraj.  He is very popular and has been the leading man in some big box office successes.  He has 39 acting credits, 4 producer credits and 4 assistant director credits including "Eega" (2012), "Shyam Singha Roy" (2021) and "Ante Sundharaniki (2022).

Kiara Khanna played Mahi.  Her cuteness and charm is an important ingredient to the film.  She drew attention modeling for print ads and tv commercials.  She has four film credits.

Mrunal Thakur played Yasna.  She had been offered a Telegu movie role while in College.  She has 26 credits including "Super 30" (2020), "Made in America" (2029), "Dhamaka" (2021), "Jersey" (2022), and"Lust Stories 2" (2023).  Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/11/dhamaka-is-this-what-tv-is-coming-to.html

Jayaram played Mahi's Grandfather.  He has played in Malayalam, Tamil, Telegu, Hindi and Kannanda films.  Wtih that versatily he has 231 film credits including "Summer in Bethlehem" (1988), "Friends" (1999), "Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo" (2020), "Ponniyin Selvan:  Part 1"(2022) and "Ponniyin Sevan:  Part 2" (2023).

Angel Bedi plays Tony, a close friend and uncle to Mahi.  He was born the son of a captain of the India cricket team and played cricket at a high level until 19 years of age.  He has 22 film credits including "Soorma" (2018), "Gunjan Saxena:  The Kargil Girl" (2020) and "Lust Stories 2" (2023).

Priyadarshi Pulikonda, played Justin, another friend.  He has 63 acting credits including "Malleham: (2019).

Shruti Haasan is usually listed as a leading character in most promotions, but in fact she was only used for a cameo.  She is a big draw.  Her father Kamal Haasan was a top writer, director, producer and actor  Shruti was a child actress and altogether she has 49 film credits as an actress including "Hey Ram" (2000), "Once Upon a Warrior" (2011) and "'D-Day" (2013. She has appeared and/or sung in Tamil, Telegu and Hindi.  Earlier in her career she studied music in California and has also become a serious playback singer including 24 music department credits and one as a composer.

 I have tried to limit plot details, because the film is very rich in surprises and yes there are a lot of coincidences that add irony to the story.  It is one of the more engaging films to be seen.  Subtitled on Netflix.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.

Miss Shetty Mr. Polishetty

Those who make films are always looking for a new angle to an old story.  Romances are pretty popular, but there are few new angles.  "Miss Shetty Mr. Polishetty" (2023) try an odd duo with a master chef and a would be stand up comedian.  But another twist is the heart of the plot.  She wants to get pregnant, but not be burdened with a marriage.  He gets hooked pretty bad, but she is adamant.

Psychology plays a role only a little different from other romances.  If romances were straight forward, after a few they would be boring, but this one is not.

It takes a number of talented people to pull off such a romance film.  Here are some.

Mahesh Babu Pachigolia as director and writer.  This is his first movie as director/writer.  Previously he had a credit for camera and electrical department.

Radhan and Gopi Sundar combined for the music.  Radhan has 24 composing credits and wrote the songs including ""Arjun Reddy" (2017).  Gopi Sundar wrote the background score with 173 composing credits including "Chennai Express" (2013), "Bangalore Days" (2014) and "Uyare" (2019).  Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/09/arjun-reddy-and-kabir-singh.html  and http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/03/bangalore-days.html

Nirav Shah was responsible for cinematography.  He has 47 film credits including "Super Deluxe" (2019).

Kotagiri Venkatheshwara, the editor has 157 credits including "Eega" (2012) and " Baahubali 2:  The Conclusion" (2019).

Anushka Shetty is the Miss Shetty of the story.  She has 53 film credits including  "Baahubali 2:  The Conclusion" (2019).  She is also a yoga instructor.

Naveen Polishetty is the Mr. Polishetty of the story.  He has 15 film credits including "Chhichhore" (2019).  Check  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/03/chhichhore-is-for-losers-ie-most-of-us.html

Murli Sharma plays the father of Mr. Polishetty.  Murli has 157 film credits including:  "Jaane Tu...Ya Jannne Na" (2008), "Badliapur" (2015), "Ala Vankunthapuramubo" (2020) and "Major" (2022).  He has been in Hindi, Tamil, Telegu, Marathi and Malayalam films.

Romances require happy endings and this one does deliver.  Humans are various and when you combine them in different ways you (sometimes) get different results.

Available on Neflix subtitled with  the original Telegu language.

Ustaad

 "Ustaad" (2023) is an unusual love story in that it involves a motorcycle as well as a girl.  I believe it was inspired by the director/writer's love for a particular bike.

The story is a story within a story as Surya is telling the senior pilot the story of his life while the plane is on automatic pilot.  We see Surya as a youngster at the fair with his father.  His father is supportive and encouraging him to play, but when we get to a Ferris Wheel ride, Surya panics and we learn he fears heights.

Later we learn that his father dies after falling from a family roof, further reinforcing his acraphobia.  His mother who is a teacher raises him.  Despite her good guidance Surya is aimless.  As he reaches his young adult hood he doesn't really have any plans.  His young colleagues make fun of him, particularly his inability to drive a motorcycle.  Somehow an old motorcycle catches his attention and he is directed towards an older mechanic who specializes in old motorcycles.  The mechanic gets it running and gives it a name, "Ustaad" which in Telegu means master or expert. 

At about the same time and as a result of a motorcycle he meets the girl, Meghana who is getting a college education and has plans for her future (which involves an argument with her father).  It takes awhile but they get closer and closer.  While this is advancing he watches a commercial jet over him as rides his motorcycle.  He associates his desire to be a pilot with the motorcycle and takes steps to overcome his acrophobia.  The next big event is a discussion with Meghana's father who sees Surya as a poor match for his daughter.  The rest of the film is a breakup with Meghana who admits she loves him, but sees no future, partly due to his inability to control his temper and his carrying through with his ambition to be a pilot.  It is not too much of a spoiler to tell you there is an heroic pilot scene.  

This enjoyable film, in Telegu language is the result of many talented people.

This is the first film for writer/director Phanideep.  At the end credits they show a photo of an old motorcycle as the inspiration for the film.  One can conclude that many of the incidents shown were part of Phandeep's history.

B. Akeeva provided the music and like the writer/director made his debut with this film.

Pavan Kumar Pappula was the cinematographer with 12 film credits.

Carthic Cuts was the editor with 10 film credits.  

Sri Simha Koduri plays Surya as he gradually matures.  He has 8 film credits as an actor and one as an associate director.  

Kavya Kalanram  plays Meghana.  She has 3 film credits.

Anu Hasan plays the mother of Surya.  Her father was an elder brother to Kamal Haasan, the famous Tamil film maker.  She redeived an MSC degree in Physics.  She got into Tamil films.  For four years she hosted her own show as anchor, "Koffee with Anu."  She has 13 film credits plus did some dubbing, including for Preity Zinta.

Ravi Siva Teja played a close friend (and advisor) to Surya.  He has 11 film credits.

Ravindra Vijay played the alcoholic mechanic that picked the name for the motorcycle and the film.  He earned a medical degree, but only practiced a short time.  He could speak five languages including English.  He started with theatre and went on to have 13 film credits including 8 episodes of "The Family Man" (2021).  Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/03/the-family-man.html.  

Gautham Vasudev Menon played the senior pilot who listened to Surya's story.  He has mostly been involved with Tamil films.  He directed 24 films, mostly in Tamil, but also a few of his earlier films were remade in Bollywood under his direction.  He has 31 acting credits, 24 directing credits and 21 writing credits.

It is basically a coming of age story.  The main character starts out as immature and over time he (or she) matures.   The couple are very likable and are well supported by the rest of the cast.  Available subtitled on Prime.