Red Buckeye – Aesculus pavia

Ninnu Kori (transl. Wanting you) is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy drama film directed by debutant Shiva Nirvana from a screenplay written by Kona Venkat. Produced by DVV Danayya under DVV Entertainments, the film stars Nani, Nivetha Thomas and Aadhi Pinisetty while Murali Sharma and Tanikella Bharani play supporting roles.^[4] Gopi Sunder composed the music. Prawin Pudi and Karthik Ghattamaneni are the editor and cinematographer of the film respectively.^[5]

The plot revolves around Uma (Nani), Pallavi (Thomas), and Arun (Pinisetty). When Uma declines her proposal to elope, Pallavi marries Arun and emigrates to the US. Uma who still is in love with Pallavi also lands up in the US a year later in the hope of getting her back.

The film was commercially successful, grossing over ₹52 crore at the box office. A Tamil-language remake titled Thalli Pogathey was released in 2021.

On the day of her first wedding anniversary, Pallavi travels from San Francisco to Los Angeles under the pretext of running errands for the anniversary party. Unbeknownst to her husband, Arun, she goes to meet Uma, her former lover.

One and a half years earlier in Vizag, Pallavi was a student aspiring to record a dance performance to show her family post-marriage. Lacking natural talent, she seeks help from Uma Maheswara Rao, a young statistics student and orphan, who agrees for a large fee as he needs the money. Uma not only helps Pallavi with dancing but also supports her in confronting a bully. They eventually fall in love.

Pallavi arranges for Uma to stay in her family’s penthouse, where he starts tutoring and earns the money he needs. When her family begins looking for marriage alliances, Pallavi asks Uma to elope with her. He agrees but later reconsiders after Pallavi’s father, Chandramouli, lectures a boy about the responsibilities of marriage, emphasizing the importance of being well-educated and settled.

Determined to secure a future, Uma asks Pallavi to let him pursue a Ph.D. in New Delhi. She tearfully agrees. Over the next few months, Pallavi ignores Uma’s attempts to contact her and eventually marries Arun after her family arranges the match. A year later, Pallavi learns from Prof. Murthy that Uma has fallen into depression and alcoholism. Feeling responsible, she travels to Los Angeles to meet him.

In Los Angeles, Pallavi tells Uma she is happily married and does not wish to reunite with him. Uma disagrees, insisting she still loves him and is unhappy with Arun. Back in San Francisco, Pallavi tells Arun about her encounter and suggests inviting Uma to stay with them for 10 days to prove her happiness. Uma agrees on the condition that if he fails to see the love between her and Arun, she must leave with him. Pallavi reluctantly agrees.

Uma's presence creates tension, as he mocks their relationship, annoying Pallavi. Arun's colleagues, however, like Uma, despite his pessimistic nature offending some. The situation becomes more complicated when Chandramouli and his son-in-law, Lovababu, unexpectedly visit San Francisco. Uma is introduced as Arun’s old classmate and promises Pallavi to keep his true purpose hidden. Chandramouli, suspecting Pallavi’s happiness, had come to find her former lover after learning from her friend Kavitha about her past relationship.

Uma indirectly helps Chandramouli and Lovababu discover the truth. When interrogated, Kavitha fabricates a story, saying Pallavi's lover is married, and Pallavi assures her father she is happy. During a trip to Santa Monica for Arun’s business meeting, Pallavi discovers Arun's infidelity after seeing him hug another woman. Chandramouli also learns about Uma from a phone call with Arun's father and Kavitha.

Pallavi confronts Arun, who lies again, confirming his infidelity. She confides in Uma, who believes she now wants to be with him. However, when Chandramouli tells Uma he wishes to get Pallavi married to him, Uma informs Chandramouli about Arun's past with Christie, a friend from his MBA days. Arun's guilt over Christie's tragic fate, after he rejected her romantic feelings, explains his allowance for Pallavi to call Uma, believing Uma was heading towards a similar path of self-destruction.

Realizing Pallavi should stay with Arun, Uma stages a scenario making himself appear negative to Pallavi, coaxing her to recognize Arun's honesty. Arun prepares to leave, but Pallavi stops him, clearing their misunderstanding. They reaffirm their love for each other. Heartbroken, Uma leaves, shattered.

A year later, Uma visits Vizag and meets Pallavi and Arun, who now have a daughter. He reveals he has come to meet a girl he met online, hoping to settle and marry.

Music of the film was composed by Gopi Sunder. This is his third collaboration with Nani.

Ninnu Kori was released on 7 July 2017. Later, a Hyderabad-Mumbai based production company, Aditya Movies bought the Hindi dubbing rights of the film. It is dubbed into Hindi as Aaj Ka Khiladi in 2020 which is to have a direct premiere on TV channel. Sony Networks bought the satellite rights of the Hindi dubbed version.

Sowmya Shruthi of The Times of India rated three out of five and wrote "Ninnu Kori is an entertainer with lots of drama and emotion with just the right amount of laughter thrown in," while adding that "Nani, Aadhi and Nivetha breathe life in their characters and you can't think of anybody else playing those roles with such ease and conviction."^[6]

Firstpost's Hemanth Kumar gave 3.5/5 and praised the film for its well written characters. "Ninnu Kori is a character-driven film and Shiva Nirvana invests plenty of time in developing each of the characters who have to deal with their share of pain and turbulence in their lives", Kumar stated. He also added that "[the film] drives home the notion that love is transient and that in pursuit of happiness, you learn to move on from your past."^[7]

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo writing for The Hindu opined that "The film is a contemporary take on relationships."^[8] Priyanka Sundar of The Indian Express rated two stars out of five, by writing "Shiva Nirvana has presented a love story which initially looked refreshing, but as minutes pass by, the film is too much of stretch with a few laughs thrown in."^[9]

Ninnu Kori was remade in Tamil as Thalli Pogathey in 2021 by R. Kannan starring Atharvaa, Anupama Parameswaran and Amitash Pradhan.^[15]

• Ninnu Kori at IMDb