Life Is Beautiful

Caveat 1 : For those who are awaiting Amala Akkineni's return to the screen after two decades.... it is a miniscule role.

Caveat 2 : For those who are fans of Shekhar Kammula and have been waiting for this release - a bit of deja vu trickles in from his previous movies.

Story : The journey of a group of youngsters through the year..... Yes, that is the story.

A pleasant enough story one might add with good performances from the young cast. Could have easily been over the top but no, thank goodness. And thank goodness yet again to the young cast for laying off the face paint and the overly coordinated, colourful costumes. Refreshing.

The humour was not loud and when the movie veered towards melodrama it fortunately autocorrected.

Strangely, Anjala Jhaveri fit into her role better than Shriya Saran fit into hers.

Dare one comment on Amala's role without being lynched? Well... have to say atleast this. Pre-interval performance was a tad stiff. Post- interval she is much more comfortable. Oh! The camera still loves her and she looks good - just simply and effortlessly.

Feel good viewing.

Sekhar recreates Happy Days magic in a colony with similar characters only to leave the audience in utter disappointment. What you see in Life is Beautiful is so alike to what you wouldve seen in Happy Days few years back. Running close to three hours long, the film lacks originality and fails to evoke interest to even sit through the film.

Life is Beautiful takes us through the lives of six youngsters in Sunshine colony, which is home to both rich and middle class families. New entrants to the colony are Srinu and his sisters, whove moved in to stay with their grandparents. The rich in the colony, who stay in the gold phase, prohibit seeing or even talking to people who stay in the other phase, where the middle class families reside. The rivalry between both the phases goes to the extent of killing each other. However, the lives of people in both the phases have moments to celebrate, and Life is Beautiful shows you those moments which can literally make life beautiful.

Instead of following a dedicated screenplay, the film only manages to capture some lighthearted moments in the lives of people living in a colony. Although, the film for initial few minutes presents with likeable moments, but on the whole fails to keep you hooked.

The newcomers shine in their respective roles however its the senior artistes such Amala, Anjala Zaveri and Shriya, who hardly have any part to play in the film. Anjalas role is a straight reincarnation of Kamalinee from Happy Days. Both the characters are extremely sensuous and drape sari in a way that her slender waist bone is visible. Shriyas character reminds us of the part played by Sonia Deepti aka Sravanthi.

Thanks to Mickeys music, you are left with the satisfaction of listening to few good melodious numbers. Sekhar direction and screenplay is plagued with boredom and lacks passion. The story takes several twists and comes to a point where everything seems clichd. Srinus interview scene yet again reminds us of the placement scene in Happy Days.

In essence; LIB is a disappointing retake on Happy Days.