However, in effect, both these acts are the same. Though Govind backtracks from the idea of kissing her after the initial try, the moving bus does the act when he tries to take a selfie with Geetha when she is asleep. Govind is persuaded and advised by his friend to kiss her (the entire conversation between Govind and his friend is deeply rooted in casual sexism). To elaborate, the first scene sets up the conflict between Govind and Geetha when Govind tries to kiss Geetha in a moving bus after she has fallen asleep. The first scene introduces these two subplots one after the other and the second scene merges these subplots into the main plot. There are two crucial scenes in the movie. These two subplots interlace and merge before the climax. Second, Geetha’s brother trying to prove his "manhood" by killing the man who apparently kissed his sister in a moving bus. One, Geetha-Govind’s (Rashmika- Vijay Deverakonda) conflict. The narrative unfolds mainly through two subplots, expectedly, connected to each other. This scene sets the tone for the rest of the movie, which is consistently sexist and patriarchal. This is his notion of "remaining pure", and it also reiterates the "woman is property" idea for he believes she should not be touched as she is already "owned" by somebody else. To this, he replies, “No, it’s not good to touch you because you are somebody else’s wife now (Vaddhulendi, ippudu meeru inkokari bharya, mimmlani touch cheyakudadhu)”. However, it’s one thing to like a film and quite another to introspect as to why one likes it.Īmong the first scenes in the film is when the character played by Anu Emmanuel wishes Vijay Govind (Vijay Deverakonda) all the best by offering him a handshake. This, obviously, suggests that many from the Telugu audience are liking this film. The case-in-point is the recent Telugu release Geetha Govindam, directed by Parasuram, which has been running successfully, if we purely look at it from the commercial vantage point. So, reducing a film and bypassing all other values, to "just entertainment" (thereby making it beyond reproach) is irresponsible and an insult to the medium. Because, all these - commercial, cinematic and ethical values - go into the medium. A film may be judged on its commercial value by its producers but it should also be assessed for both its cinematic and ethical value. So, a film must be taken head-on, especially, when it has a deeply problematic premise and portrayal.