We rarely see a mainstream Telugu film with a middle-aged character at the forefront. Director Lakshman Karya’s Maruthi Nagar Subramanyam, inspired by true incidents,narrates a tale of middle-class woes, laced with humour, centred on the versatile Rao Ramesh. The actor is the lifeline of the bittersweet story of aspirations and strained relationships that packs in some fun segments but often feels like a dreary television soap.
Lakshman Karya presents Subramanyam (Rao Ramesh) as an archetypal 80s and 90s man who dreams of landing a stable government job. The dream seems to be within an arm’s reach in the late 90s, only to slip away. Decades later, Subramanyam is loitering about and living off of his wife Kalarani (Indraja), who has a government job. The narrative is content outlining the characters and their journeys and does not get into finer details of her official responsibilities.
Maruthi Nagar Subramanyam (Telugu)
In the initial portions of the film, a voiceover indicates how Maruthi Nagar Subramanyam intends to present the saga of middle-class woes. When the odds are stacked high enough against someone to drown him, the only way out is humour. Subramanyam’s failures are presented through humour; he not only has several loans to repay but is the butt of his mother-in-law (Annapoorna)‘s jokes and his wife thinks he is incompetent.
Added to this, Subramanyam’s son Arjun (Ankith Koyya) imagines himself as a brother to Allu Arjun and believes that Allu Aravind had given him away as a child to be brought up in a middle-class family! Ankith’s character is steeped with references to Allu Arjun’s films, which initially add to the fun but soon get boring.
Much of the drama is staged at the entrance or in the central hall of the house. This staging makes the film come across like an outdated television soap, especially when the comic portions weaken.
The film plods along until something unusual happens. Subramanyam’s bank account is deposited with a huge sum of money. His life ceases to be mundane but opens up a can of worms. Issues such as erroneous bank transfers, the possibility of cops knocking at the doors, fraudsters who promise to double the money… a lot happens. A silly romance track is thrown in with the arrival of Ramya Pasupuleti’s character.
Several characters, such as the ones played by Indraja and Harshavardhan (as Subramanyam’s friend) have the potential of leaving a mark but simply fizzle out. For instance, Indraja’s character as a wife has taken on all the responsibilities. Her husband who thinks it is below his dignity to work in private organisations, only made it tougher for her. Her outburst at a crucial point is a result of this pent-up anger but mostly she is presented as a domineering wife. Her styling, with ample make-up, even when travelling in the weary hours of the night, only adds to the television soap aura.
There are several twists and turns once the drama revolves around the windfall into Subramanyam’s bank account and for a while, the tension that he and Arjun go through is palpable. The father-son relationship also stands out from the clutter. Ankith is fairly good and holds his own in his scenes with Rao Ramesh. The subplot involving comedian Pradeep and another involving a local hairstylist, which veers the film into a darker zone for a few minutes, feel out of place.
Maruthi Nagar Subramanyam is a simple story that delivers some humour in its portrayal of day-to-day frictions but is also overstretched.
Maruthi Nagar Subramanyam is currently running in theatres
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