Let this be said straight. Devi Sri Prasad’s “He is soo cute” is as artificial as it can get. The lyrics may connect with an urban, English-speaking Telugu filmgoer audience but the song is not blockbuster material, the kind associated with DSP. The situation and the acting is so contrived that it is cringeworthy. After all, how many times have we seen Mahesh Babu walking in the frames, wearing an uninterested expression and a backpack sling bag.
The song from Sarileru Neekevvaru is an eulogy to how good Mahesh looks and Rashmika Mandanna’s adulation of the leading man. A bit off the beaten track, you would sigh.
What however, would work for this Sankranti 2020 release is the fresh Mahesh-Rashmika pairing given that the actor’s on-screen association with Vijay Deverakonda is so strong. She looks nice in the village belle outfit, a more rustic avatar of the sarees she has been seen in, in earlier movies.