Telugu romantic drama ‘Couple Friendly’ directed by debutant Ashwin Chandrasekar has officially moved to OTT platforms after its theatrical release. The film, which released in theaters on February 14 to celebrate Valentine’s Day, is now available for streaming on OTT.the protagonist Santosh Sobhan and Manasa Varanasi in the lead roles, ‘Couple Friendly’ explores the complexities of love faced by young couples.
Story explores a modern life relationship
Set primarily in Chennai, the film follows the journey of a young working-class couple navigating life together.Santosh Sobhan plays Siva, a young man from Nellore who moves to Chennai to pursue a career in interior design. He crosses paths with Mithra, played by Manasa Varanasi, an independent and ambitious professional woman.As their connection grows stronger, they both decide to live together while building their careers. What begins as a bright and hopeful romance soon faces a series of unexpected challenges. Sounds interesting? Well, you can stream the movie on Amazon Prime Video now.
The emotional turn changes the tone of the film
According to our exclusive ETimes review, the film undergoes a major change in the second half of the story. The review states, “In the second half the narrative takes a sharp turn when Mithra is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Although this twist is intended to increase the emotional depth, the treatment turns into melodrama, sometimes resembling an overly sentimental tone. The pace slows considerably, and the family drama about his condition develops into a predictable formula. What began as a refreshing romance of a lifetime slowly drifts into familiar and conventional territory, losing much of its former charm.”
The directorial debut shows promise
For Ashwin Chandrasekar, ‘Couple Friendly’ is his first feature film as a director and ETimes also commented on the directorial effort, “Debutant director Ashwin Chandrasekar shows clear promise with a refreshing and engaging first half, but the film struggles to maintain that momentum, weighed down by excessive drama in the latter parts. Still, it remains an honest and commendable effort overall.“
Screening at the box office
During its theatrical run, ‘Couple Friendly’ registered modest but remarkable numbers at the box office. According to Sacnilk reports, the film played consistently in various markets.The film earned 13.57 crores worldwide in 13 days of release. This includes 11.97 million from India and 1.60 million from overseas markets.Reported net collections were 10.57 million euros in 7,235 shows during that period.
