Miss India Review: 15 WTF Moments in Keerthy Suresh’s Netflix Film That Left Us Stumped (SPOILER ALERT)

In the latest Telugu film to hit Netflix this week, Keerthy Suresh plays the lead role in Miss India, a supposedly inspiring story of a small-town girl achieving the Great American Dream by selling her special brand of tea. Why USA, you say? Maybe because, even the makers of the film thought that in the present economy, seeing a newbie businessperson soar high in India would have been a ludicrous idea! Directed by Narendra Nath, Miss India also stars Nadhiya Moidu, Jagapathi Babu, Rajendra Prasad, Naresh, Naveen Chandra and Sumanth Shailendra. Miss India Movie Review: Keerthy Suresh’s Netflix Film Brews an Uninspiring Tale From a Bland Recipe!

Keerthy Suresh plays Manasa Samyuktha, whose very double name defines feminism. She is a girl from a village in Andhra, but aspires to be a businesswoman someday. Manasa is the only one who inherits her grandfather's legacy of making Ayurvedic brews, and can whip up a fantastic chai - the only beverage she prefers to drink. Not even coffee, against whom she holds some unexplained grudge.

Later, when her family shifts to California, USA, Manasa completes her MBA studies and plans to start a tea-shop in what is said to be a land of coffee drinkers. Her ambitions are met with scepticism from friends, family and competitors, but Manasa battles all odds to turn one of America's biggest entrepreneurs with her Miss India chain of outlets.

If you think we have ruined the film's ending for you, well, the movie actually begins by showing Manasa as this hotshot business-woman at the peak of her success. If you think there are plenty of surprises in her journey to reach there, you are totally wrong. For Manasa's rise to the top is as predictable and contrite as you can possibly imagine. Or rather, un-imagine! Miss India serves a very bland concoction using an inspired recipe. Miss India Movie Review: Keerthy Suresh’s Netflix Film Ends Up Being A Disappointment For Critics.

Still, we have to warn you of SPOILERS as we talk about the 15 most WTF moments in Miss India.

Why This Scene?

A young Manasa is told by her mother that she knows when she is lying, for Manasa would keep looking at her feet. If you think that moment would have any future follow up, you are dead wrong! For it feels a very random moment in an already over-stretched narrative, never to be called back!

The Bizarre Sister

Manasa's father suffers from Alzheimer's, her family is facing financial issues, and the mother is wondering how to take of the education of her daughters. Bam! The elder daughter arrives married to her lover, leaving the entire family in shock. What's funny about the whole situation is that she never gave an inkling of having feelings for anyone to her family. The urgency of her marriage being questionable, Manasa's mother doesn't even allow her new son-in-law a chance to explain themselves, making us wonder about the laziness to write out a character, that wasn't needed in the first place!

The Creepy First Sign

After Manasa breaks up a couple at a pub on a Truth or Dare challenge, the boy - Vijay - runs after his white girlfriend, while taking Manasa's phone with him. After Manasa chases him outside, he insists that he will return the phone only if she goes out on a date with him! For some reason, that didn't sound 'creep alert' in Manasa's head, as she actually goes on a date with him!

Creepy Second Sign

As if the earlier scenario wasn't enough to show Vijay was bad news, this scene proves him to be a misogynist too. He takes Manasa for shopping and when she selects a black dress, he says she should go for grey instead as black doesn't suit her. Sure, Manasa rebels and wears that black number to stun him, but that moment of feminism comes out of an act of defying a male perception, which is also a flawed idea! And how many more such scenarios does Manasa need to dump him?

That Escalated Fast!

Manasa's brother buys Manasa her favourite watch. As we ready ourselves for a nice sibling bonding, he tells her to go for a job interview the next day. Manasa repulses the idea, saying that she wants to do business. Instead of calmly explaining to her his misgivings about her plan, he instead threatens to throw her out of the house if she doesn't obey him! What? Why? Did she not tie him rakhi that year?

Manasa Doesn't Know Where He Boyfriend Works

If Vijay was a creepy, misogynist of a boyfriend, then Manasa belongs to the uncaring types. Despite being close to him for months, Manasa doesn't even knows where he works, and was in for a surprise when she finds him in the cabin waiting to interview her!

The Final Creepy Sign

Manasa finally realises that Vijay s a douchebag when he goes to her family to ask her hand for marriage, without even bothering to ask her first! So that she agrees to the marriage, he tries to bribe her with the prospect of running his company in partnership. All the while, wondering why Manasa doesn't see why he is such a good catch!

The Dumbest Friends Ever!

The full form of MBA is Master of Business Administration, "Business" being a keyword. Someone needs to inform Manasa's two silly friends, who are also studying for MBA as her. While I can still understand Manasa's family worrying over her business aspirations, I am pretty clueless as to why these two baulk at the idea of her starting a business, as if she suggested carving their hearts out. Isn't that exactly what you are studying for - handling a business?

Whatta INTRO!

Manasa meets the owner of KSK coffee chain brand - KSK himself, played by Jagapathi Babu in one of his many one-dimensional negative roles. When Manasa meets him, she doesn't recognise him immediately, which makes us wonder what kind of research she does before meeting investors. Anyway, once he drops the surprise on her, we see what is a very weird reveal scene of him as KSK, with extreme closeups while his PA keeps on extolling his many qualities.

The Chai Ceremony

Using the 'charity' money of $1000 that KSK gave her, Manasa does a chai ceremony to attract investors. At the event, she serves everyone 'cutting' and speaks in Telugu, even though the audience is a mix of Indians and Americans. What's more everyone seems to grasp what she is telling!

The Suddenness of That Rise!

Before Manasa gets investment for her Miss India outlet, she is told that she has to make 25% profit in the first year or else, her business will be taken over. If you think that would build some tension in the narrative, you are wrong again! She easily makes so much profit within two months of starting her business that she is shown travelling in swanky luxury cars! SWOT Analysis can go take a hike!

KSK Steals Idea From Hooters!

Hooters is a chain of eateries in USA, where you are served by skimpily clad waitresses. When Manasa's Miss India begins to eat into his company's profits, KSK has an idea that he totally steals from Hooters - have skimp-ily clad ladies to serve at his outlets. While he rejects a board member's idea of having discounts thinking it would damage his profits, he had no qualms in having a lucky draw competition where the winner gets a million dollar bumper prize.

That Second Marriage Alliance

What's with the men in Manasa's life and their urgency in dropping the M-word, without surpassing the L and even F words? After Vijay, it is now the turn of her new investor Vikram to drop a marriage proposal on an unsuspecting Manasa, at what is their first candle-light dinner! I understand this was the movie's way of showing Manasa doesn't need men in her life in her path to success (though it still showed two men giving her the money to carve that path). But dropping two rejected marriage proposals in the same movie reeks of lazy writing!

That Insipid Finale

KSK tries to justify his villainous presence by trying to undercut Miss India's finances, by getting one of Manasa's dumb friends to backstab her. So how is this conundrum solved? Through a simple press conference where Manasa ousts him as a fraudster, while making us realise that the writers had no clue how to end the movie!

That Epilogue!

Why oh why would KSK walk in Manasa's cafe in a lungi as if he has just strolled into a toddy bar? How come not a single one on the film's team thought that it would look  absurdly and hilariously bad on screen? And when will Netflix begin the screen the content they are buying from producers?

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 04, 2020 09:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).