comedy, India, movies, Murli Sharma, Nayan Sarika, Satyem Rajesh, Sree Vishnu, Srikanth Iyengar, Yadunaath Maruthi Rao
March 1, 2026
by Carla Hay
Directed by Yadunaath Maruthi Rao
Telugu with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in Ongole, India, the comedy film “Vishnu Vinyasam” features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A teacher at a junior college gets romantically involved with a female co-worker, whose parents seem desperate for her to get married, but terrible things keep happening to her suitors
Culture Audience: “Vishnu Vinyasam” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and subpar romantic comedies that have ridiculous plot twists.
The romantic comedy “Vishnu Vinyasam” is a lot sillier than it needs to be. It’s a bungled and mindless story about man who falls in love with a woman whose suitors have unfortunate fates. The movie’s horoscope angle is mishandled.
Written and directed by Yadunaath Maruthi Rao, “Vishnu Vinyasam” takes place in Ongole, India. The movie has a one-joke tone to it that quickly wears out is welcome. The movie’s song-and-dance numbers are also tacky and not very entertaining to watch.
In “Vishnu Vinyasam,” superstitous bachelor Vishnu (played by Sree Vishnu) is a teacher at Prathiba Junior College, where he meets a 27-year-old bachelorette teacher named Manisha (played by Nayan Sarika), who seems to be the “perfect catch”: Manisha is a friendly personality. She’s pretty, intelligent, and seems to come from a very good family.
However, right from the beginning of the film, there’s are some major problems with Manisha’s personal life. Her family—led by her domineering father Srikanth (played by Srikanth Iyengar)—is overbearing and extremely meddling in wanting Manisha to get married. Manisha’s family members think they know best in choosing who Manisha’s husband should be.
The movie’s dreadful opening scene shows Manisha rejecting her family’s most recent choice for a potential husband. In desperation to get married to anyone except her family’s choices, she approaches four hoodlums on the street and asks if any of them is single. The four creeps say that only one of them is a bachelor, but Manisha can share a bed with all four of them.
The rest of “Vishnu Vinyasam” is a tiresome repeat loop of the antics and problems that occur when Vishnu and Manisha fall in love with each other, and he finds out bad things happen to men who try to court Manisha. There’s a nonsensical subplot about horoscope predictions. And then, there’s a surprise “reveal” at the ends that makes this awful movie even worse.
A lot of the acting in “Vishnu Vinyasam” is too over-the-top and shrill. There’s no believable romantic chemistry between Vishnu and Manisha. Murli Sharma has a supporting role as the story’s psychic narrator, who gives some background information on some of the characters.
“Vishnu Vinyasam” is just a pile-on of romantic comedy stereotypes, including the male protagonist having a goofy best friend. In this case, this sidekick’s name is Bunta (played by Satyem Rajesh), who is the very definition of a buffoon. People who like seeing adults act like immature teenagers in a romantic comedy might enjoy “Vishnu Vinyasam.” But everyone else will just be bored or annoyed by all this foolishness,
Prathyangira Cinemas released “Vishnu Vinyasam” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on February 27, 2026.