Radhika Rajamani feels that Solo doesn't offer anything we haven't seen before.
Parashuram's Solo is about family values and the joys of a joint family.
Gautam (Nara Rohith), an orphan, yearns to marry a girl from a large family. His attempts to find such a girl are fruitless, until one day he meets Vaishnavi (Nisha Agarwal), a medical student and falls in love with her. Vaishnavi's father (Prakash Raj) is against the match because, ironically, he wants his daughter to marry into a joint family and not to an orphan with no family! He fixes a match with Ravi.
The second half of the film is a real tear-jerker. M S Narayana and Srinivas Reddy provide the laughs in the first half, which keep the tone breezy, but the momentum flags somewhat as the film progresses.
The dialogue, written by Parashuram, is pretty crisp and meaningful. But the film follows a predictable path, particularly with the third angle in the triangle, Ravi. It is much like other films that have dealt with a similar situation. The scenes leading to the climax are worth a watch, though.
Nara Rohith has carried the film on his shoulders, but he has to work a bit on his expressions. Nisha just looks pretty in the first half and proves her acting talents in the second half, especially the climax.
Prakash Raj must have played this kind of a father numerous times and this is a cakewalk for him.
Jayasudha, who plays Prakash Raj's sister, has a minor role but makes a good job of it. Sayaji Shinde, Srinivas Reddy and Ali give credible performances.
The cinematography of Dasharathi Shivendra and editing by Marthand Venkatesh are good, but Mani Sharma's music is just passable, with only a couple of songs being melodious.
Solo's blend of entertainment and family values is fine for one-time viewing.
Rediff Rating: