‘Love Mocktail 3’ movie review: Darling Krishna’s meandering finale aims for emotional pay off

If you are familiar with the Love Mocktail franchise, you know that the story sets off only in the second half. Director-actor Darling Krishna uses the first half to generate laughs. The trend continues in Love Mocktail 3. The humour isn’t consistent (it wasn’t in the first two parts as well), but a lot depends on your taste.

If you are drawn to wordplay, there is an overdose of it in the third instalment of the series. Adi (Darling Krishna) is now a strict dad to his adopted daughter Nidhi. He hasn’t moved on from his wife’s (Milana Nagarj) death completely, but his daughter is his world.

Being a strict dad has its consequences as Nidhi turns out to be a persistent rule-breaker in school. Every now and then, Adi is called by the principal to address Nidhi’s tantrums. The portions are written with the intention of producing cute and heart-warming scenes, but they are generic at best. The bigger problem is how the idea of Nidhi being a naughty child is stretched beyond its potential.

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The meandering first half is saved by actor Jagadish, who essays a house help with an effeminate personality. He shares a warm attachment with Nidhi, and his sharp dialogue delivery, combined with the authentic rural accent, makes an impact. His comic timing also deserves praise.

The second half turns into a courtroom drama following an interesting twist. The episodes inside the court reveal Krishna’s approach to direction. He has always targeted viewers willing to be manipulated by emotions. Hence, you see emotional outbursts inside the court. There is melodrama, amplified by slow tempos (Nakul Abhyankar is the music composer).

Again, the flaws are balanced by the measured performances from Shwetha Prasad and Dileep Raj, who play lawyers fighting a complex case. They deliver smart lines (dialogues by Milana Nagaraj, Krishna, and Yadhunandan) as the courtroom scenes have meaningful arguments on mental health, parenting, and sexual identity.

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Love Mocktail 3 could have delved into the challenges of raising a child alone. How is Adi managing financial stability? How does he balance the responsibility of being a father with his personal life? We don’t know because Krishna is clear about his target audience. The finale stays true to the candyfloss nature of the franchise. It is content in being visually attractive and light-hearted. It believes in being in the feel-good zone without reaching the depth of its themes thanks to the positive response from the audience for the previous parts.

Krishna and the team have pulled off a third part by moving beyond the romantic template of the franchise. That deserves a mention, though the execution of the story is debatable.

Love Mocktail 3 is currently running in theatres