''Malli Pelli'' () is a 2023 Indian

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

-language

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

written and directed by M. S. Raju. The film stars Naresh,

Pavitra Lokesh Pavitra Lokesh is an Indian film and television actress. She appears primarily in Kannada and Telugu films playing supporting roles. The daughter of stage and film actor Mysore Lokesh, she made her film debut at the age of 16 and has since ap ...

and

Vanitha Vijayakumar Vanitha Vijayakumar (born 6 October 1980 ) is an Indian actress and film director who has appeared predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil films and television shows. Early life Vanitha is the eldest daughter of Tamil actor Vijayakumar (Tamil a ...

with

Jayasudha Jayasudha Kapoor (born Sujatha Nidudavolu), known mononyomusly as Jayasudha is an Indian actress and politician known for her works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She has also worked in few Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Known ...

Sarath Babu Sathyam Babu Dixithulu (31 July 1951 – 22 May 2023), known by his stage name Sarath Babu, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Tamil and Telugu cinema. He appeared in more than 300 films, including in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and ...

(in his posthumous film role),

Ananya Nagalla Ananya Nagalla is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu language, Telugu films. She made her debut with ''Mallesham'' (2019) and went onto appear in films such as ''Play Back'' (2021) and ''Vakeel Saab'' (2021). Her performance in ''Pottel'' ( ...

, Roshan, Ravivarma, and

Annapurna Annapurna (; ) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the 10th highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its as ...

in supporting roles. The story of Naresh and Pavithra's actual marriage is partially romanticized in the film.

Cast

* Naresh as Narendra (based on Naresh himself) ** Varshith Vemuri as child Narendra *

as Parvati (based on Pavitra herself) **

as young Parvati *

as Soumya Sethupathi (based on Ramya Raghupathi, Naresh's ex-wife) *

as Narendra's mother (based on

Vijaya Nirmala Vijaya Nirmala (born Nidudavolu Nirmala; 20 February 1946 – 27 June 2019) was an Indian actress, director, and producer known for her works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with a few Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning over si ...

) *

as Narendra's stepfather (based on

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

) *

Ravi Varma Ravi Varma or Ravivarma is a Hindu male name used in India. It may refer to: People * Ravivarman Kulaśēkhara, 14th century warrior king of Quilon, Kerala * Ravi Varma of Padinjare Kovilakam (1745–1793), rebel prince regent of Calicut, Malabar ...

as Phaneendra ** Roshan Basheer as young Phaneendra *

as Annapoornamma * Bhadram

Production

The film was produced by Naresh under his banner, Vijaya Krishna Movies. The title ''Matthe Maduve'' was given to the

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

dubbed version of the film. The film's cinematography was done by Bal Reddy, and Junaid Siddiqui handled the editing of the film. The first-look poster was released on 24 March 2023. The teaser was released on 21 April 2023. The trailer was released on 11 May 2023.

Music

Suresh Bobbili and

Aruldev Mikkin Aruldev is a music director from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He has scored music predominantly for Tamil-language films. Early life Mikkin Aruldev is an Indian film music composer from Madurai. His father was an accordion player and an orch ...

composed the songs for the film, while Aruldev composed the background score.

Release

The film was released on 26 May 2023. Ramya Ragupathi, Naresh's ex-wife, filed a plea to prevent the film's release and to stop its distribution, claiming that it portrays her in a negative way. However, the film was released as scheduled.

Home media

Online streaming rights to the film were acquired by

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

Reception

Neeshita Nyayapati of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'' gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "''Malli Pelli'' is the tale of two consenting adults who happen to fall in love and face judgement from society. Watch it if that’s your cup of tea." Abhilasha Cherukuri of ''

Cinema Express ''Cinema Express'' was an Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language entertainment fortnightly magazine published from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was a part of The New Indian Express, The New Indian Express Group, which also publishes ''Samakalika Mal ...

'' gave it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "''Malli Pelli'' surpasses the expectations it sets, surprising its viewers with sincerity on one end and unabashed glee on the other." Avad Mohammad of ''

OTTplay HT Media is an Indian mass media company based in Delhi. It has holdings in print, electronic and digital media. HT Media's flagship newspaper is the ''Hindustan Times'', the second most widely read English newspaper in India after ''The Times of ...

'' gave it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "MS Raju has neatly put his point across that love can be felt at any age in life. However, the film has issues in the second half. The flashback of Pavitra Lokesh is a tad boring and derails the flow of the film." ''

123telugu Mallemala Entertainments is an Indian media and entertainment company which produces films and television programs. Its television productions include reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purpo ...

'' gave the film 2.75 out of 5 stars and wrote, "M.S. Raju managed to create some good moments, but the authenticity factor remains unknown as the movie is based on the real lives of Naresh and Pavitra. Also the slow narration at times hampers the impact." Satya Pulagam of '' ABP Live Telugu'' gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated, "How did Pavitra and Naresh start dating? How do they get along with their life partners? The scenes are interesting." A critic from '' Sakshi'' gave the film a rating of 2.5 stars out of 5 and gave a mixed review. Kiran Kumar of ''

News18 Telugu Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (d/b/a Network18 Group) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by the Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief, a ...

'' gave it 2.25 out of 5 stars and stated, "The life of Naresh is the subject of the controversial film ''Malli Pelli''. The film contains issues like a sluggish narration and lack commercial values."

References

External links

* {{M. S. Raju 2020s Telugu-language films Indian romantic drama films Films directed by M. S. Raju