Mr and Mrs. Sailaja Krishnamurthy Movie Reviews

Lost and found themes have a special appeal to Indian cinema. Mother and daughter. Father and son. Brothers and sisters. Lovers. Animals. You name it --- everything is lost and found. It is a theme that allows for comedy, intrigue, sentiments and heaven knows what else.

Mr and Mrs Sailaja Krishnamurthy is also about a man and woman who don't know that they are in love. And when they realize that the two are lost on their own separate ways. So both try to seek out each other. The film is about whether they can.

Providence takes Krishnamurthy (Sivaji) and Sailaja (Laila) to the temple town Annavaram. One is a believer and another non-believer. Then again, it is providence that makes them pose as husband and wife to get a room. But after some typical hilarious moments, providence again sees them separated. So the question is whether providence allows them to get united again.

It is a trite and cliched story. But comedy, especially from Dhramavarapu Subramanyam, redeems the film. There is a new polish to Sivaji's performance. As an atheist sent to a temple town, he gives his role a veneer of plausibility. Laila is as usual fresh and lively. Though her stock of expressions is limited, she makes do with that in this simple role. The comedy team of Subramanyam and Brahmanandam is positively first rate. The others have typical roles.

Debutant music director Rohit Raj is a standout in the film. The songs are soft and hummable while the background is effective.

Director Siva Nageswara Rao (previous films Money and Sisindri), the film was major chance to establish himself as a frontline technician. But he seems to have let that slip by coming up with average script that does not allow for the film to move forward fast.

Mr and Mrs Krishnamurthi is by no means a perfect couple. But they are also not bad enough to call for a divorce.