Padi Padi Leche Manasu

Padi Padi Leche Manasu (transl. A Heart That Keeps Rising and Falling) is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama written and directed by Hanu Raghavapudi. It stars Sharwanand and Sai Pallavi, with Priya Raman, Sampath Raj, Kalyani Natarajan, Murali Sharma, Priyadarshi and Sunil in supporting roles. It was released on 21 December 2018 to mixed reviews and was a commercial failure.

Story

In a Telugu-speaking community in Kolkata, Surya, a football player, falls for Vaishali, a medical student. When she begins to talk of marriage, his fear of commitment, rooted in his parents’ failed marriage, makes him break up with her. Vaishali proposes that they meet in Kathmandu exactly a year later to decide whether to marry. When that day comes, events beyond their control put their love to the test.

Cast

• Sharwanand as Surya, a football player
• Sai Pallavi as Vaishali, a medical student
• Priya Raman as Surya’s mother, returning to acting after 19 years
• Sampath Raj, Murali Sharma, Priyadarshi and Sunil

Production

The film was finalised in December 2017. Shooting was brought forward to February 2018 to fit Sai Pallavi’s dates, and the first leg began in Kolkata on 5 February 2018, with more scenes in rural West Bengal. The second leg was shot largely in Kathmandu, and the medical college scenes were filmed at Mahindra École Centrale in Hyderabad. Sharwanand lost 10 kilograms for the role. The title was announced in March 2018. Jay Kay was the cinematographer and A. Sreekar Prasad the editor.

Music and release

Vishal Chandrasekhar composed the music, his second film with Raghavapudi after Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha. The film was released on 21 December 2018, and a Hindi dubbed version, Dil Dhadak Dhadak, appeared on YouTube in 2021.

Reception

Critics were disappointed. Cinema Express gave it 2.5 out of 5 and said the screenplay moved from cliché to cliché, though it avoided double meanings and sexist jokes. The Times of India gave it 2. The Hindu felt the director got the best from his cast and crew but that the plot was a big letdown.

Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.