Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha have come together for Kushi which is promoted as a light-hearted rom-com. The film hit the theaters on the 1st of September and here is our review of the Shiva Nirvana directorial.

Story: Indian army officer (Vijay Deverakonda) and a Muslim girl (Samantha) fall for each other in the snowy mountain ranger of Kashmir. One thing leads to another and they come back to Telugu setting, where they have to convince their contrasting families for their wedding. 

How did the actors perform?

Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha deliver fine performances in the film and they are up to the task of playing intimate lovers on screen. They do particularly well in the emotional scenes towards the end. Vennela Kishore is seen entirely in the first half and he does the job well.

What about the technical finesse?

The core premise of Shiva Nirvana's story is good from the outset. The love track between the two completely polar mided individuals packs a punch. But the problem is with Shiva's formulaic approach. He presents several scenes in the first half in a stereotypical manner. 

The music and BGM are very soulful. Hesham has done a very good job with this audio track and he is a main pillar. The cinematography and production values are alright.

Analysis:

As mentioned, Kushi has a good and exciting premise and freshness. But Shiva Nirvana, for some odd reason decides to present his story in formulaic manner. This acts against the cause as the audience get a "seen there done that" kind of feel through the course of the first half.

The latter half holds the emotional core of the film and this is the real deal. Sam and Vijay deliver the goods with their gripping performances here. 

After a love-centric first half, things take a serious turn in the latter half and this ends the film on a decent note. A better edited first half could have worked for the film as it is unnecessarily lengthy at times. 

Verdict: Kushi is a middling rom-com that has just about enough things going its way to make for a decent one-time watch.

Rating: 2.75/5