Movie: Couple Friendly
Rating: 2.75/5
Banner: UV Concepts
Cast: Santosh Sobhan, Manasa Varanasi, Rajeev Kanakala, Goparaja Ramana, Yogibabu, Livingston and others
Music: Aditya Ravindran
DOP: Dinesh Purushothaman
Editor: Ganesh Siva
Art: Michael
Producer: Ajay Kumar Raju P
Written and Directed by: Ashwin Chandrasekar
Release Date: Feb 14, 2026
Santosh Sobhan has been striving for a solid hit for quite some time but success has eluded him so far. After taking a considerable break, he is now returning with a new film.
The trailer of "Couple Friendly" appears quite intriguing and promises an entertaining ride. Let’s analyze.
Story:
Shiva (Santosh Sobhan), a native of Nellore, moves to Chennai hoping to make it big as an interior designer. There, he meets Mithra (Manasa Varanasi), who has arrived from Chittoor in search of an IT job.
Following an unexpected turn of events, she ends up staying in his room as a paying guest, and the two gradually fall in love. Meanwhile, Shiva begins to find success in his profession.
While his parents readily accept their relationship, Mithra’s parents strongly oppose it. As the couple struggles to win them over, an unforeseen incident turns their lives forever.
Artistes’ Performances:
Santosh Sobhan has already proved his mettle in earlier films and once again delivers a convincing act as a man plagued by constant bad luck. His slang feels authentic. The character is etched to perform subtly, he makes it work with a sincere and earnest performance.
Manasa Varanasi comes as a pleasant surprise. She fits the role perfectly, showcasing both maturity and solid acting skills. She also pulls off the romantic and intimate moments with ease.
Among the supporting cast, Rajeev Kanakala shines as Manasa’s father with a powerful performance.
Goparaju Ramana gets a few impactful scenes and makes the most of them. Yogi Babu, however, doesn’t add much to the proceedings. The rest of the actors deliver neat performances.
Technical Excellence:
The major highlight of the film is its cinematography. The cameraman captures the real locations of Chennai with striking naturalism, adding a strong sense of realism to this love story.
The music is just okay. There are no catchy songs. Love stories need strong and mellifluous songs that are lacking here. Editing is crisp, and the film maintains a tight runtime of just two hours.
Highlights:
The basic story
The interesting narration
The lead pair and their portrayals
Matured climax
Drawback:
Lack of catchy songs
Diluted intensity
Analysis
"Couple Friendly" will pleasantly surprise you if you walk in with minimal expectations. The title and trailer suggest a live-in relationship drama or a routine love story, but the film is not really about a live-in setup. It carries a surprise element that unfolds in the second half when you least expect it. Although the director intercuts portions of the latter half into the first, the actual twist still catches you off guard.
The first half is quite engaging. The narrative begins with Santosh Sobhan’s unemployment and his failed first love in Nellore before shifting to Chennai, where he meets another Telugu girl from Chittoor. The progression of their relationship and his struggle to establish himself as an interior designer are handled neatly, without much drag. The intercut glimpses of future events add intrigue and keep the narrative interesting.
In the second half, the focus shifts to the couple’s attempts to convince their parents about their marriage. However, this portion feels slightly stretched. Several scenes and dialogues appear overly dramatic. The hospital sequence featuring the heroine’s sister and the hero’s sister-in-law seems forced and somewhat disconnected from the core story.
Just when the narrative begins to lose steam, the twist arrives and brings the film back on track. The emotional turn works effectively, and the climax neatly ties together the earlier intercuts and narrative threads, making sense of the overall proceedings.
That said, the second half does resemble the Bollywood blockbuster “Saiyaara,” which itself drew inspiration from the Korean film “A Moment to Remember.” Despite these similarities, the emotional core of the story manages to leave an impact.
The new director’s sensibilities and the Tamil-style approach to romance; often seen in love stories from Tamil cinema; work in the film’s favor. The crisp runtime is another advantage. However, the absence of memorable songs and the similarities to "Saiyaara" slightly dilute its overall effect.
Overall, "Couple Friendly" is a sincere and sensible take on a love story, backed by smart narrative choices and an effective climax. Despite a few shortcomings, it stands as a decent effort.
Bottom-line: Youth Friendly
