Kushi movie review: This Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu starrer is a love story with a twist

After Tuck Jagadish, director Shiva Nirvana is back with Kushi, starring Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu in the lead roles.
Viplav (Vijay Deverakonda) is a BSNL employee who gets himself posted to Kashmir because he wants to live the Mani Ratnam fantasy. He wants snow-capped mountains, AR Rahman music, heady romance, et al. What he's welcomed with instead is a good ol' dose of reality. In the midst of all the chaos, he falls for Aradhya (Samantha Ruth Prabhu), who pretends to be a begum from Pakistan.A cross-country love story would've been easier for these two than the reality of who their families are.
In true-blue Tollywood style, he begins stalking her, irrespective of how uncomfortable she feels. But, of course, she falls for him too. The first half of the film is nothing out of the ordinary, but it's sometimes adorable and engaging nonetheless when the film gets into the thick of things. Hesham Abdul Wahab's music gels beautifully with the film. At the end of the first half, it's hinted that eventually, Viplav will get his Mani Ratnam fantasy, just not in the way he imagined. It remains to be seen how the second half will fare.