Movie: Bhadram
Rating: 2.75/5
Banner: Shreyas media, Pushyam Film Makers, Good Friends, Uma Associations
Cast: Ashok Selvan, Janani Ayer, Kali, Jayaprakash, Jaya Kumar and Others
Music: Nivas.K.Prasanna
Editor: Leo John Paul
Cinematographer: Dinesh Krishnan
Producers: Good Friends and B. Rama Krishna Reddy
Story, Screenplay, Direction: P.Ramesh
Release Date : March 21st, 2014
The film is a remake of the Tamil hit film Tegadi. A murder mystery, it was well-received in Tamil Nadu. However, it remains to be seen how the Telugu audience will receive it.
Story:
Venu (Ashok) joins a detective agency. His primary job in the agency is to study the lifestyles of various people and maintain a database about them. As a part of his job, he gets to spy on Madhusri (Janani). However, in the process, he falls in love with Janani though it is against the norms of his profession.
Meanwhile, he figures out that all people he had been stalking had died under suspicious circumstances. Eventually, he realizes that Madhu too is in danger and starts figuring out the mystery behind the murders. Soon, he finds out that all people who were dead were orphans who had no one. Venu finds some truths and the rest of the story ends with him unraveling the mystery.
Artistes’ Performance:
Ashok Selvan puts in a decent performance. If the character was played by a better actor, it would have been more convincing. He tries to underplay his part in some scenes, which is not very convincing.
Janani Iyer is ok. Though she is not heroine material, she is manages to pull along. Jayaprakash and Jayakumar put in good performances, while Kali as the hero’s friend provides some comic relief. The actor who plays the professor disappoints by putting in a tame performance in the most crucial scene.
Technical Performance:
Songs by Nivas are not good on the ears in Telugu. The makers should remember that the flavour has to be retained even in the dubbed version. They must make sure that the songs are good, once they are included in the script.
Background score is ok.
The film moves at snail’s pace at places where it could have been racy. The editor should have been more cut-throat while chopping the film off.
Camera work is ok.
Ramesh has tried to present an interesting script in a new way. Of course, it does have its share of hitches. While mystery films move ahead at a certain pace, the scenes where the truth is revealed are rather slow. The film picks pace 15 minutes before the interval. But the same pace is not maintained during the rest of the film.
Highlights:
- 15 minutes before the run-up to the interval.
- Suspense element
Drawbacks:
- Songs
- The love track between the lead pair
- Opening sequences
- Slow pace
Analysis:
While it’s a good film, it’s not the best of films. Such films can be wrapped up in 2 hours and in case they are stretched, then the suspense element should be supplemented by love angle. The film takes more than 45 minutes to shift from first gear to second gear.
The director suddenly takes the film to the top gear and then comes the break. Now the audience expects that the film will continue at the same pace, but it does not match up to the pace. No matter how objective you want to be, you are constantly reminded that the film received good reviews in Tamil and so your expectations are rather high while watching it. Since the villains go into a positive mode, the hero does not get to play an active role. Though there is a sprinkling of tense moments here and there, the screenplay is nothing much to write about.
Coming to the main plot, the mystery is unraveled rather simply. The main reason behind the murders has already been tackled by Vamsi in Koncham Touchlo Unte Cheputanu. The only difference is that the director tried to give it a more sophisticated treatment. However, the intensity required for the climax is missing and that mars the impact of the film.
Another drawback is the performance by the hero who reacts rather badly in important scenes. By responding very late, he adds to the troubles. Since the heroine is supposed to be the next target, if she was made to face some scary situations, then the film would have been more thrilling. The ending which leaves scope for a sequel is also not very effective. To put it simply, it is just about ok.
It fails to give a kick to those who have watched a lot of films in this genre. Not maintaining pace and ending it on a simple note are the main drawbacks of the movie.
Bottomline: Everyday thriller!
(Venkat can be reached at [email protected] or https://twitter.com/greatandhranews)
