Several films with the word nuvve in the title have been big hits, beginning with Nuvve kavali, Nuvvu naaku nachav, Nuvve nuvve and so on. But one cannot expect the same from Gopichand's, because the lead cast has no star power, no big names in the technical category-- barring cameraman Chota K Naidu -- and no pre-release publicity whatsoever. Not that the film is devoid of elements that makes a film successful at the box office, but good promotion aids a film's success and Nuvve may go down at the box office because of the low-key release.

This would be a pity since the film has finesse, gripping narration and first class performances, with a fair amount of humour thrown in. It's makeover time for Telugu cinema as more directors are straying from the beaten track to present good films. Here, Gopichand tries his hand at a new genre, moving away from melodrama and run-of-the-mill love themes. Nuvve is a fight between love and materialism, with contemporary issues.

The story revolves around four characters, Srinu, (Dhanush), Rana (Ravi Varma), Chalapathi (Shafi) and Anitha (Samaragni). Srinu is a village simpleton who comes to the city in search of employment. He stays with his friends Raju (Chitram Srinu) and Munna who rent a portion in Anitha's house. The landlady (Anitha's mother) is irritable and greedy. She refuses to let Srinu stay with them but gives in when she finds out how gullible he is, trying to swindle money out of him instead.

Srinu gets a job and falls in love with Anitha. After a lecture from Satya [Images], Anita realises she loves Srinu as well -- also, her mother likes the idea of getting a son-in-law for free. But Anitha's young boss, Rana, is smitten by her and proposes to her. Anitha is caught in a dilemma, but gets over it soon. She decides to marry Rana and forget Srinu. Srinu's shattered as the film stops with a twist at the interval. From this point on, the narration is quite gripping and the director keeps the audience guessing.

The first part has a good measure of humour, especially with Ramesh Gopi's witty one-liners.  The director tries to maintain the pace of the film, while breaking the seriousness with Venu Madhav's entertaining comic capers. Kudos to the director for getting the best out of all artistes, particularly Samaragni, who not only look fabulous but emotes well too.

The three heroes do their job well and Chitram Srinu and Satya are quite apt in their roles. The background score is quite in sync with the narration and Naidu's camerawork is great.

There are some glitches like Srinu being an unemployed orphan but with loads of money to spare. But, on the whole, this is definitely an enjoyable film.

Rediff Rating: