Ek Mini Katha highlights an important body problem, but in many ways it also simplifies it, notes Divya Nair.

Remember the first time you had to tell your parents you had a boyfriend?

Most of us who grew up in a middle-class Indian family would agree that you experience anxiety, fear, and guilt simply by worrying about the consequences.

Now imagine telling your family about your sexual insecurities.

In a Telugu movie Ek Mini Kathadirector Kartik Rapolu takes a sensitive but equally important social theme and weaves it into a comedy drama.

Our hero Santosh (played by debutante Santosh Shoban) is introduced to a psychiatric clinic.

His father, a college professor, has no idea why his son is acting weird and getting into all sorts of unnecessary trouble. He comes to the conclusion that his son is addicted to sex and asks Dr. Satya Kishore (Harshvardhan) to cure him.

After some persuasion, Santosh tells Dr. Satya how he has struggled with micropenis syndrome ever since he was bullied in his school days. Basically, he grew up thinking that his penis was too small and that it would affect his ability to perform or satisfy in bed.

As his attempt to discuss the issue with his father was rejected at an early age, Santosh confesses and seeks help from his colleague and friend Sudharshan.

The story is told in flashback mode in a very engaging manner.

As a viewer, just like a psychologist, you are quickly drawn into the story, wanting to know what happened next.

Aside from the useless song-and-dance routine with deliberately added “hook steps”, I had a few more reasons to be dissatisfied.

While Santosh and Sudarshan’s increasingly goofy and failed attempts to solve the former’s problem do provide comic relief, they also delay the film’s purpose and message. For example, why would a civil engineer like Santosh seek help from social groups and womanwith? He even agrees to risk his life for penis enlargement surgery.

Hasn’t he heard of a sexologist?

Did he even read about his condition?

Pretty stupid and presumptuous, I would say!

For a debutante, Santos Shoban’s inability to show emotion in key scenes cannot be ignored. But he dances quite well, and to be honest, those who understand Telugu can vouch for his comic timing better (I had to rely on subtitles).

All in all, it’s Sudharshan and the rest of the cast who make this slightly drawn-out drama bearable enough to watch to the end.

Female actors, including Kavya Thapar and Shradha, can do little to help other than looking pretty.

There is no logic why a seer should bare her skin in a barely visible sari.

Similarly, there is an older character obsessed with Pooja Hegde’s legs – completely unnecessary and a little regressive, if I may add.

Such cases of forced humor could have been avoided.

The last message is that communication is the right channel to deal with your insecurities.

Maybe it’s easy to preach this in a movie that ends on a happy note. But in a country where sexual health was a top concern in 2020 with a staggering 139 percent increase in sexual health counseling (with most opting for online counseling), should we be content with a mediocre movie like this, or should we be? expect? something better?

Of course, it’s good when the filmmakers talk about sexual issues and insecurities in a commercial film that is accessible to everyone.

But as a serious viewer, would you recommend a brilliant comedy like Dostana where being gay is passed off as a bad joke, or would you encourage a socially significant comedy drama like Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan what actually says about homosexuality and its consequences?

In a similar way, Ek Mini Katha highlights an important problem of the body, but in many ways it also simplifies it.

If you can ignore these disruptions, perhaps we can hope that some of the audience will take in Dr. Sathya’s heartfelt advice and message for adults, especially parents.

Ek Mini Katha is streaming on Amazon Prime.

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