Majili

Shiva Nirvana's 2019 Telugu film follows Poorna, whose dream of a cricket career collapsed and whose first love was lost, and who years later gives nothing to the marriage he has entered. The story runs in two periods, the ardent young man of the past and the withdrawn man of the present. Its real subject is not the lost love but the cost to a woman, Sravani, of choosing to stay married to a man who does not love her. Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu were married in real life at the time, which explains part of the weight the film carried for Telugu audiences. Samantha's performance produces more than the script gives her. Its weakness is that the husband's change arrives too late and too easily; the film comes close to presenting the woman's patience as a virtue, and that choice is open to argument. Who it's for: viewers who enjoy Telugu romantic drama and dual-timeline storytelling. Who it's not for: anyone troubled by a woman's self-sacrifice being rewarded, or avoiding content about alcohol dependency and depression.