Manchu Manoj Babu's 'Nenu Meeku Telusaa' is a classic case of style over substance. Good cinematography and good editing can only take you so far. You can deck up your movie well with good editing and photography, but you need a script, a good taut script to last you two and half hours. Nenu Meeku Telusaa is a technically superior product, it looks better than any Telugu film in recent times, but lacks the pace and the logic to make it a thriller.

What is it about: The film is about Aditya (Manchu Manoj Babu) who suffers from a peculiar problem. Aditya forgets everything everytime he sleeps and wakes up. He has a tape which reminds him of who he is and tells him what to do. He has a girlfriend, Madhumita (Riya Sen). Only two people, his uncle (Nasser) and his doctor (Harshavardhan) know his condition. One fine morning he wakes up and finds that his tape has been destroyed. Then he finds his uncle murdered and he is indicted for the murder. How he manages to extricate himself from the mess and how a beautiful police officer, Anjali Mathur (Sneha Ullal) helps him forms the crux of the story.

What is Good: Manchu Manoj Kumar's efforts deserve mention. The actor apparently did all his stunts himself and also lost oodles of weight, so much so, that he could actually take off his shirt and show off his body. The cinematography by Sunil and the music by Achu are really good. The kind of cuts used in editing and the DI are good, but the editor Naveen could have been so much more judicious with his scissors. The stunt work is appreciable too. Brahmanandam's 'What the frock' dialogue evokes a few laughs initially, but even that overstays its welcome. Sneha Ullal seems like she has put on weight as compared to Ullasanga Utsaahanga and she acts decently but for her dubbing.

What is bad: The film promises so much when it takes off, you expect a taut thriller, but the film does not gel at all. Firstly, it is too long for a thriller, the film almost lasts 2hrs 35min. It seems like the director also suffered from amnesia. He keeps introducing character after character in the film and just lets them go after one scene. The screenplay has so many loose ends and the script has so many loopholes, you start wondering if anyone ever thought about logic at all. Simplest example being that Manoj's link to his life is a cassette that he plays in a tape recorder. It is shown that the tape recorder is damaged by pouring water into it. What about the cassette? Also, after all the heavy duty fights through the movie, the climax is a big dampener. The item song with Kausha is completely unnecessary.

Me Thinks: Can be safely avoided. Maybe a one time watch on a DVD if you are the kind that appreciates technical finesse. Nenu Meeku Telusaa is a case of a great idea on paper that got lost somewhere in translation.

Tailpiece: The logic flaws are so glaring that you cannot help but think if the audience is taken for granted. Manoj, who is a murder suspect, roams around as freely as you and me and no one is really concerned. Also, you do end up wondering what was the need for all the characters in his flashback when you do not intend to show them again.