Movie: Buddy
Rating: 1.5/5
Banner: Studio Green Films
Cast: Allu Sirish, Gayatri Bharadwaj, Ajmal Amir, Prisha Rajesh Singh, Mukesh Rishi, Ali and others
Music: Hiphop Tamizha
Director of Photography: Krishnan Vasant
Editor: Ruben
Art: R Senthil
Co-Producer: Neha Gnanavelraja
Producer: K.E. Gnanavelraja & Aadhana Gnanavelraja
Story, screenplay and Directed by: Sam Anton
Release Date: August 02, 2024
Allu Sirish has been trying to score success for a long time. His previous film was not successful but at least won better reviews. Now, he came up with a remake movie.
Let’s see whether he delivered something good this time.
Story:
Pallavi (Gayatri Bharadwaj), an Air Traffic Control (ATC) officer, is set to visit pilot Aditya Raj in Vizag in order to express her feelings to him. However, she sustains injuries in an accident. While at the hospital, she is administered medication to induce an artificial coma, resulting in the transference of her soul to a teddy bear. A doctor (Ajmal Amir), who is involved in the illegal organ trafficking, has transported her body to Hong Kong.
The teddy bear, also known as Buddy, forms a bond with a child, who uses his phone to deliver the teddy bear to Aditya's home by parcel. The rest of the film follows Aditya and buddy on their trip to Hong Kong, where they discover Pallavi's body and expose the organ trafficking syndicate's operations.
Artistes’ Performances:
Allu Sirish plays the role of a pilot. He gets less screen time than the main character, Buddy, a toy. Allu Sirish does it in a casual manner.
Gayatri Bharadwaj does an adequate job portraying Pallavi. Prisha Singh, the second heroine, is lacking in both screen presence and acting ability.
Watching Mukesh Rishi in a humorous role is fairly perplexing. Ali plays the routine role. Ajmal Amir, who plays the main role, performs his role with standard expressions.
Technical Excellence:
The film scores in its cinematography and production values. The buddy's character is well-designed.
One song, Vaalu Kanula Vagaladike Kunuke, is good, and the music director has used it for background score in many places.
The dialogue writing is poor and reeks of Tamil flavor.
Highlights:
Few moments
Drawback:
Boring narration
Unconvincing fiction
No engagement anywhere
No gripping moments
Allu Sirish’s acting
Amateurish direction
Analysis
"Buddy" is a Telugu remake of the Tamil film titled "Teddy." Although there have been few changes in the Telugu remake, the main storyline remains intact. The reason behind the success of the Tamil version remains unknown to us, as we have not seen the original. But this Telugu replica appears to be completely lacking in trendy approach.
The film primarily focuses on the illegal trade of organs. But the scenes depicting the mafia gang are somewhat absurd. The members of the mafia exhibit behavior reminiscent of street rowdies rather than that of a sophisticated international criminal organization.
Teddy, who possesses the ability to walk, talk, and run, lacks any characteristic that the audience can enjoy. This film is made to attract family audiences, with a particular focus on kindergarten and elimentary school children. But the exposure of today’s children to high-quality Hollywood and global films raises questions about whether they will find this teddy bear amusing.
The film commences with the romantic relationship between Allu Sirish and Gayatri Bharadwaj. He is a pilot and she is an air traffic controller. They engage in a romantic relationship through their wireless communication. The entire episode appears absurd.
How does the filmmaker find it entertaining to witness Mukesh Rishi wearing shorts and portraying Babai to Sirish? What's funny about seeing Mukesh Rishi as a cool guy?
In the second half, comedian Ali tries to do some comedy. Clearly, the team doesn’t know current trends of Telugu cinema. Furthermore, Allu Sirish has yet to learn to own the screen. He has zero screen presence after all these years.
Neither the organ mafia sequences nor Teddy's antics are engaging. The entire narration is boring. This remake fails utterly. “Buddy” is another tedious effort from Allu Sirish.
Bottom line: Bore Buddy
