A Comedy That Feels Seriously Outdated and Struggles to Entertain
Some films try to create a fun-filled family comedy with romance, emotional drama and a few commercial elements. When the writing works, such movies can become easy and enjoyable entertainers. But when the humour feels outdated and the situations are forced, even a simple story can become difficult to sit through. This film unfortunately falls into the second category for me. Code : 24
The basic idea is not completely bad. There is a father-son relationship, two love stories, family conflicts and a situation where the lead characters have to deal with problems created by their relationships. On paper, this could have been developed into a modern family entertainer with genuine humour and emotional moments. However, the biggest problem is the way the story and comedy have been written.
The film feels as if it belongs to an earlier era, even though the story is set in the present day. The comedy, dialogues, situations and several characterizations follow familiar templates that have already been used many times in Telugu cinema.
Movie Details
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie | Mazaka |
| Genre | Romance, Comedy |
| Runtime | 2 Hours 21 Minutes |
| Release Year | 2025 |
| Rating | U/A 13+ |
| Director | Trinadha Rao Nakkina |
| Main Cast | Sundeep Kishan, Rao Ramesh, Ritu Varma, Anshu, Murali Sharma |
| Languages | Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam |
| OTT Platform | Prime Video |
| Movie Link | Click Here |
Story and Basic Premise
The story revolves around a father and son who are both looking for love and hoping to build happy family lives. However, things become complicated when they discover that the women they love are related to each other and do not have a good relationship.
This creates the central conflict of the film.
Instead of simply accepting the situation, the father-son duo decide to try and repair the relationship between their respective partners. From there, the film attempts to create comedy through their efforts, misunderstandings, family situations and romantic complications.
The premise itself has enough potential for a light-hearted entertainer. A father and son dealing with their respective love stories could have produced some genuinely funny situations.
Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t make the most of that potential.
The Biggest Problem – Outdated Writing
The biggest issue I had with the film is its writing.
The movie is set in a modern time, but many of the jokes and situations feel like they belong to a much older generation of commercial comedy films. There is nothing wrong with old-school comedy if the writing is strong, but here the film repeatedly uses familiar situations without giving them a fresh treatment.
Several sequences feel predictable from the moment they begin.
You can often understand where a particular scene is going before the characters even reach the punchline. That makes the humour lose its impact.
A modern comedy needs situations that feel natural to today’s audience. Here, the writing often feels artificial and deliberately constructed just to create a comedy scene.
That disconnect becomes more noticeable as the movie progresses.
Comedy – Not Everyone Will Enjoy It
Comedy is obviously subjective.
Some viewers may enjoy the style of humour used in the film, especially if they like exaggerated situations, loud reactions and old-school commercial comedy.
But personally, most of the jokes did not work for me.
There are plenty of comedy scenes, particularly in the first half, but quantity doesn’t automatically mean quality. The film keeps trying to generate laughs through repeated situations, reactions and dialogues.
In the theatre, the response to many jokes also felt limited. There were moments when a few people laughed, but overall the comedy did not create the kind of energy you expect from a full-fledged comedy entertainer.
There are a couple of jokes that work, particularly in the second half, but they are not enough to save the overall experience.
If this particular comedy style works for you, your experience could obviously be different.
Romance Doesn’t Feel Completely Natural
Another major weakness is the romantic portions.
The movie has two love stories, but the emotional development behind these relationships isn’t convincing enough.
A romantic story needs the audience to understand why two people fall in love and what makes their relationship special. Here, some of the romantic portions feel like they are present because the screenplay needs them rather than because the characters naturally arrive at those moments.
The relationship between the characters could have been explored with more believable conversations and emotional development.
Instead, the movie sometimes jumps from one situation to another without giving the romance enough breathing space.
This makes several romantic scenes feel artificial rather than emotional.
Sundeep Kishan’s Performance
Sundeep Kishan is an actor I generally enjoy watching, but this film doesn’t give him a particularly strong character to work with.
His character is designed around the situations and comedy, and there isn’t enough depth in the writing.
Because of that, some of his reactions feel exaggerated.
There are moments where his performance appears louder than the situation actually requires. The problem isn’t necessarily the actor himself; the character and scenes are written in a way that encourages over-the-top reactions.
He does have his moments, but overall this is not one of his strongest performances.
Rao Ramesh and Ritu Varma
Rao Ramesh is one of the actors who can elevate even ordinary scenes through his dialogue delivery and screen presence.
There is an emotional scene involving Rao Ramesh and Ritu Varma that works considerably better than many of the comedy portions.
The setup for that scene is decent, and the emotional payoff towards the end is effective.
Ritu Varma also performs well in her role. Her emotional portions are handled better than some of the forced comedy scenes.
Their combination gives the film one of its more believable emotional stretches.
Anshu and Other Supporting Characters
The supporting characters are largely used to move the story forward or create additional situations.
Some of them work within the commercial framework, but they don’t receive enough development to make a lasting impact.
One of the problems is that certain characters appear to exist mainly because the screenplay needs them for a particular situation.
This becomes particularly noticeable in the second half.
The Emotional Track
Interestingly, the film does have an emotional core.
The father-son relationship and the family conflicts could have been the strongest part of the movie if they had been written with more maturity.
There are moments where the film attempts to move beyond comedy and talk about relationships, misunderstandings and family bonds.
Some of those portions work.
However, the movie frequently returns to exaggerated comedy and predictable situations, which reduces the impact of the emotional scenes.
A more balanced screenplay could have made these moments considerably stronger.
Songs and Music
Another thing that didn’t work particularly well for me is the placement of the songs.
The film has several songs, but their placement sometimes feels unnecessary.
Instead of naturally becoming part of the narrative, some songs appear suddenly and interrupt the flow.
The movie already has pacing issues, and these interruptions make the experience feel even more stretched.
For a film that runs for around 2 hours 21 minutes, tighter editing would have helped.
Second Half
The second half is somewhat better in comparison to the first.
There are a few emotional moments and comedy scenes that work better, and the film starts moving towards its central conflict.
However, the improvement is not enough to completely change the overall impression.
The screenplay still suffers from repetitive situations, exaggerated drama and predictable writing.
The emotional scenes involving the family members are among the better portions, but they are surrounded by too many unnecessary sequences.
Technical Aspects
Technically, the film is fairly standard for a commercial Telugu entertainer.
The production values are adequate, and the visuals are decent.
The major problem is not the technical department but the screenplay.
Even good production values cannot completely hide weak writing.
The film needed stronger editing and better scene construction to maintain the pace.
What Works
There are a few positives that should be mentioned.
- Rao Ramesh and Ritu Varma’s emotional portions work.
- A few comedy scenes do generate laughs.
- The basic father-son premise has potential.
- The performances are generally decent.
- The film is easy to follow.
- Some younger viewers may enjoy the romantic portions.
- The commercial presentation is familiar and accessible.
What Doesn’t Work
The negatives are considerably more noticeable.
- Outdated comedy
- Predictable situations
- Artificial scene construction
- Weak romantic development
- Too many songs
- Forced emotional sequences
- Repetitive situations
- Over-the-top reactions
- Several characters lack proper development
- The screenplay feels stretched
- The second half becomes difficult to follow emotionally
- Many jokes don’t land
Is It Worth Watching on OTT?
The biggest advantage of watching this on OTT is that you don’t have to commit to the entire theatrical experience.
If you are curious about the film because of the cast or director, you can give it a try on Prime Video.
However, I would not recommend going in with high expectations.
If you enjoy loud commercial comedy and don’t mind old-fashioned humour, there is a possibility that some portions may entertain you.
But if you prefer natural comedy, modern writing and realistic romantic situations, this may feel frustrating.
The movie has the basic ingredients for an entertaining family comedy, but the writing doesn’t successfully bring them together.
Final Verdict
The film isn’t completely without positives. There are a few entertaining comedy moments, some decent performances and an emotional sequence involving Rao Ramesh and Ritu Varma that works well.
But those positives are overshadowed by the outdated humour, artificial situations, weak romantic writing and repetitive screenplay.
The biggest disappointment is that the basic concept had potential. A father and son trying to fix the complicated relationships between their partners could have resulted in a genuinely fun modern comedy.
Instead, the movie relies heavily on familiar tropes and old-fashioned humour.
For me, the comedy simply didn’t work enough to make the overall experience enjoyable.
Rating: 2/5
OTT: Prime Video
Final Word: If you enjoy this particular style of commercial comedy, you may find some entertainment in it. Otherwise, this is an easy OTT skip.