The least you expect from a mainstream Telugu film is passive entertainment, one that at least offers an escapist pleasure for a couple of hours. Director Ram Godhala’s Oh Bhama Ayyo Rama starring Suhas and Malavika Manoj is everything but that. In a nutshell, it is a simple tale of a youngster overcoming a dysfunctional childhood, who goes on to fulfil his mother’s dream with his girlfriend’s support.

However, the director displays little control over the execution. The film changes tracks at the drop of a hat, disintegrating quickly in its bid to pack in romance, action, drama, and humour, with a handful of songs. The narrative lacks momentum, the jokes do not land, and it is riddled with cheesy (and unintentionally funny) dialogues.

After losing his mother as a child, Ram (Suhas) is raised by his uncle, who has high hopes for his nephew. One night, Ram meets Satyabhama (Malavika Manoj), the angelic Telugu heroine whose sole purpose is to look good, smile without reason, and chatter endlessly. It’s love at first sight for the ‘sanskari’ hero who means well and does not take advantage of her even when she’s inebriated.

Ram, who has plans to move abroad, hates cinema, but has a ‘supposedly’ special talent of judging a film by listening to the dialogues. Satyabhama is a film aspirant, narrating outlandish plots to him, by the lake, at a graveyard, on the move. Out of the blue, she helps him join the team of a popular film director. Throughout the film, Satyabhama keeps landing in trouble and he keeps rescuing her.

Between the silly humour, songs that spring out of nowhere and a romantic track with zilch chemistry, you are expected to feel for the uncle who has sacrificed everything for Ram. After introducing a pivotal character before the intermission, the film shifts abruptly to Ram’s ‘heavy’ past (that hams on and on), only for it to be diluted by a series of inconsequential comedy sequences.

Apart from tirelessly loving the girl and being occupied at work, Ram keeps lamenting about his past, sobbing scene after scene, drowning in self-pity. Satyabhama is the pampered daughter of a business tycoon whose only job is to motivate Ram and who dreams of marrying him someday. Fights, songs and emotions find their way into the narrative haphazardly, and several conflicts are conveniently left stranded.

If that weren’t enough, an entire thread is devoted to Ram’s trials and tribulations in cinema, a desperate meta touch packed with references to Chiranjeevi’s films. A couple of popular directors — Maruthi, Harish Shankar — appear in cameos offering life lessons to the protagonist (who appears as irredeemable as the film). An indulgent climax adds to a viewer’s woes and denies any respectability to the effort.

Oh Bhama Ayyo Rama borrows influences from a handful of films — Majnu, Amma Nanna O Tamil Ammayi, Maro Charitra — and tries to repackage a worn-out formula in a haphazard narrative. This is among Suhas’ least impactful performances, and the inconsistent characterisation barely allows him to settle down.

Malavika Manoj, making her Telugu debut, is reduced to a decorative character. It’s sad to see the writing of female characters regress drastically. Anita Hassanandani’s comeback is hardly memorable, and Ali’s experience is not put to good use. Babloo Prithiveeraj and Ravindra Vijay’s roles lack meat. Sathvik Anand and Moin’s appearances don’t ensure laughs either.

There’s nothing to write home about on the technical front. The music is a cacophony to the senses, and the cinematography is largely just functional. Inspired dialogue could have brought some intermittent relief to the proceedings. Oh Bhama Ayyo Rama doesn’t even do the bare minimum you seek from a popcorn entertainer. Everything about it is so ordinary and forgettable.

(The film is running in theatres)