Nabha Natesh and Priyadarshi in the Telugu movie ‘Darling’
How far would you go for the sake of love? This question has anchored several relationship dramas in books and cinema. In the Telugu film Darling, written and directed by Aswin Raam, and starring Priyadarshi Pulikonda and Nabha Natesh, when the male protagonist finds himself in a muddle, his resolute expression makes it evident that he is willing to give it his all. However, the foundation of this romance is so weakly established that it can make viewers wonder why he does not just walk away. The answer to this comes towards the fag end of the 161-minute film; by then, it is too little and too late to hold interest.
Portrayals of psychological conditions such as dissociative disorder or multiple personality disorder are not new to Indian cinema. In the past, such characters have been a part of thrillers and vigilante dramas, the most popular being director Shankar’s Aparichitudu (Telugu dubbed version of Anniyan). Aswin Raam’s story aptly references Aparichitudu to explain how in that film, the central character takes on different identities and the styling makes it amply clear to viewers which identity is at play. Reality, though, is a different ball game. A spouse or a family member might struggle to identify the shifting identities of someone diagnosed with a psychological condition.
Darling (Telugu)
Director: Aswin Raam
Cast: Priyadarshi, Nabha Natesh, Ananya Nagalla
Storyline: What happens when a man who nurtures the idea of marriage as a passport to happiness discovers that his wife has multiple personality disorder?
Darling is narrated from the point of view of Raghav (Priyadarshi), who is told as a child that only if he studies well can he dream of a well-paying job and a good wife with whom he can travel abroad for a honeymoon! He grows up rather naive, nurturing the sole dream of a career and marriage as a ticket to Paris.
Much of the first hour goes by narrating Raghav’s attempts to find the perfect match, surrounded by friends who have a stereotyped notion about women and married life. When an unexpected turn of events makes him meet Anandhi (Nabha Natesh), things happen swiftly. The two get married and he knows next to nothing about her.
When he gradually discovers her psychological condition, the film tries to deal with situations partly with humour and partly with seriousness, doing neither convincingly. The presence of Nandini (Ananya Nagalla) as a psychologist ensures that Anandhi’s condition does not become a butt of jokes among Raghav’s friends but the methods outlined to deal with the condition are certainly cinematic and may not align with a professional, medical approach.
The film takes far too long to establish the conflict point and even after Raghav knows what is ahead of him, the narrative is mostly a meandering mess, trying to unleash one comic situation after another, and it gets tiring. When Raghav’s parents get involved in the drama and he tries to manage situations by not revealing her condition, the situations get further contrived. Had he sat across the table and talked to them, we would have been spared the rest of the drama.
At one point, Raghav wears a t-shirt with the words ‘Coffee – Cannot function without it’. Sure, he can do with coffee to cope with everything he is dealing with. It also resonates with viewers when watching this film.
Priyadarshi depicts Raghav’s dilemma with sincerity. He effectively portrays the agony of a man who desperately wants to help his wife and is willing to do everything with patience. However, he can only do so much to salvage an overdrawn and boring film. On her part, Nabha tries her best to portray the different identities in her character and hits the right notes in certain segments. Vishnu Oi is wasted in a friend’s role. Muralidhar Goud manages to make an impression occasionally. Vivek Sagar’s music works as the saving grace in several portions of the film. Naresh Ramadurai’s cinematography is characterised by warm, sunny tones that offset the despair in the relationship drama.
There are rare moments in Darling when the protagonist extols the significance of marriage and its guests that give his character and the story some gravitas. These moments are rare and buried underneath a messy screenplay.
