Krishna and His Leela review: A bold, refreshing take on modern romance and relationships

Krishna and His Leela
Director: Ravikanth Perepu
Cast: Sidhu Jonnalagadda, Shraddha Srinath, Shalini Vadnikatti and Seerat Kapoor

Writer-director Ravikanth Perepu, who made a promising debut a few years ago with Telugu thriller Kshanam, is back with his second film – Krishna and His Leela - which was quietly released on Netflix India on Thursday. It’s a no-nonsense tale of modern-day complicated romance and broken relationships. Even though it starts out as a slightly cheesy take on modern romance, it takes a refreshing turn as the story progresses, quite boldly crushing many mainstream stereotypes associated with the representation of love and marriage. For its unadulterated, unabashed take on urban romance, the film deserves a lot of praise and love.

The film opens in what appears to be Ladakh and we meet Krishna (Siddhu Jonnalagadda), who introduces us to the different women in his life. From his college senior Satya (Shraddha Srinath) to his junior Radha (Shalini Vadnikatti), Krishna is stuck between two women and he’s clueless about how to deal with his emotions. He’s in love and confused at the same time with both the women. The other women in his life include his independent mother (Jhansi), who has separated from her husband and his sister (Samyuktha Hornad), who is dating a Punjabi guy. Krishna and His Leela beautifully explores the foundation on which modern romance is built, and it’s on the money when it comes to dealing with subjects like sex and broken marriage.

When was the last time a Telugu mainstream film dealt with topics like live-in relationship and pre-marital sex without getting into preaching mode? Here’s a film that tells us it’s ok to be in a complicated relationship and it’s normal to have feelings for multiple women at the same time. It would’ve been problematic had the film tried to normalize or glorify this behaviour. Thankfully, Ravikanth and Siddhu Jonnalagadda, who also doubles up as the writer, know how to deal with the protagonist’s emotional problem without making him look like a creep. There’s also a mature sup-plot involving Krishna and his estranged father.

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It takes time to warm up to Krishna and his Leela and its characters. Spend little time with the characters and get familiar with their world, the film casts a spell on you. One of the positive aspects of the film is that it doesn’t try to justify Krishna’s behaviour. We are never told if Krishna’s actions are right or wrong. In a regular Telugu film, an attempt would’ve been made to sanitize his character but luckily Krishna is spared of such scrutiny.

The film is powered by overall good performances. Siddhu and the leading ladies are good in their respective parts and own their characters with ease. Jhansi, a highly underrated actor, pleasantly surprises in the role of Krishna’s mother. The cinematography and music deserve special mention as they not only aid in the storytelling but play a crucial part in building the mood of the film.

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