Cast: Sumanth Prabhas, Ananthika Sanilkumar, Upendra Limaye, Narendra Ravi, Mani Aegurla, Venkatesh Kakumanu, Sai Sohan, K. V. Anudeep and others
Director: Venu Gopal Reddy
Director Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s production Romanchakam created some curiosity as it comes from the banner that made Arjun Reddy. The film tries to mix romance, comedy, and thriller elements, but it works only in parts. While the comedy involving the hero and his friends gets a few laughs, the romance and suspense portions fail to make much of an impact.
Sumanth Prabhas plays a young guy who falls in love with Ananthika Sanilkumar through an online connection. Their relationship develops through conversations before she decides to come to Hyderabad. But things take an unexpected turn when Ananthika goes missing, leaving Sumanth and his friends worried about what happened to her.
Sumanth Prabhas is good as the lover boy and fits the role well. His chemistry with Ananthika works, especially in the initial portions. Ananthika looks pretty and does a decent job, though her character is written more as a self-pitying girl and does not get enough depth. The film spends considerable time building their relationship, but it never reaches the emotional level required to make us really care about the couple.
The best parts are the buddy scenes involving Sumanth and his friends. Their conversations, especially the banter over drinks, generate some laughs. Narendra Ravi and Venkatesh Kakumanu are good in these portions, and the friendship track gives the film some energy whenever the main story starts slowing down.
Once the missing-person angle comes in, the film tries to create some tension. However, the suspense never becomes gripping. The audience keeps waiting to know what happened to Mythili, but by the time the reason behind her disappearance is revealed, much of the built-up tension disappears. The explanation also does not have the impact the film expects.
Upendra Limaye, who was entertaining as the funny cop in Sankrantiiki Vasthunam, gets another comic cop role here and largely repeats the same kind of act. He has his moments, but the character feels more like an extension of his recent roles than something fresh.
The film also keeps using the term Gen Z, but merely mentioning it repeatedly does not make the story feel contemporary. At its core, this is still a fairly routine love story, and the writing does not bring anything particularly fresh to the romance. The thriller track is also not strong enough to give the film the required momentum.
The first half has some fun moments because of the friends’ gang, but the film becomes increasingly uneven as it progresses. The second half, in particular, struggles to balance the romance, comedy and suspense.
Overall, it has a likeable lead actor and a few entertaining comedy stretches, but the romance lacks emotional depth, and the thriller fails to create enough tension. The friends’ banter provides some laughs, but that alone is not enough to make the film an engaging romantic entertainer.
Romanchakam is a patchy love story that works in a few comedy portions but falls short on romance and thrill.
