Movie: Hippi
Rating: 1/5
Banner: V Creations
Cast: Kartikeya, JD Chakravarthy, Vennela Kishore, Digangana Suryavanshi, Shraddha Das, Jazba Singh, Brahmaji and others.
Cinematography: R.D Rajasekhar
Music: Nivas K. Prasanna
Editor: Praveen K.L
Art: Milan Fernandez
Producer: Kalaipuli S Thanu
Story, Direction: T N Krishna
Release Date: June 6, 2019
"RX 100" became a sleeper hit last year and the film's lead actor Kartikeya Reddy Gummakonda won popularity among the youth thanks to his looks.
"Hippi" being his immediate release after "RX100", the film has caught attention. Let's analyse.
Story:
Devadas who is also called as Hippi works in a corporate company. Though he's in relationship with another girl, he falls for the beauty of Amukta Malyada (Digangana Suryavanshi), who is a member of bike racing club run by HD (Vennela Kishore).
Amukta Malyada initially refuses to be his girlfriend as his former girlfriend is her best friend.
The rest of the drama is how they get on and start living together and the ups and downs they go through in this relationship.
Artistes’ Performances:
Kartikeya didn't get much chance to showcase his acting talent in his previous movie "RX100" but here we get to see some performance. He has done well in the Goa episode but we have lost count of the number times he removed his shirt in the movie. The camera mostly focuses on his bare body (upper) to appeal to women audiences and men who like men.
Both the actresses have no acting skills. J D Chakravarthy's character is poorly developed and used as space filler. Vennela Kishore's comedy comes as cropper and Brahmaji as Baava is wasted.
Technical Excellence:
The film has two catchy songs. Editing is totally bad. The editor must have slept off on the table. Production values are decent. Direction and writing is clumsy.
Highlights:
Cinematography
Drawback:
Unbearable narration
Clueless sequences
Double meaning dialogues
Never ending arguments
Extended climax
Analysis
"RX100" didn't win great reviews but the film definitely struck a chord with the youth for its bold content.
The film also established Kartikeya as a 'desirable man' since he possesses well-sculpted body which was quite evident in "RX100". Remember, the first time the heroine falls for him is when she sees his bare body in that film.
Like Salman Khan who removes his shirt for the heck of it, Kartikeya has done similar things in "Hippi" to cash in on the image that he created with his previous movie.
Tamil director T N Krishna who is making debut in Telugu with this movie has not written a proper plot but used Kartikeya's image to the fullest.
There is no proper story arc in place though the movie talks about live-in relationship, biker clubs, and literary things like "Paradise Lost", etc.
From the initial scenes itself, you get a feeling that there is no story at all. Even after the intermission, we don't know what this movie is all about.
The reason why Kartikeya falls for Digangana Suryavanshi is as silly as their arguments and fights later. No coherence in the story or situations. It makes us feel that the director has made the film as per his whims.
There is a sequence before the climax which lasts nearly 15 minutes in which Kartikeya and Digangana throw cups, pillows, knives and all sorts of things at each other and break everything. Such pointless scenes are aplenty.
There is another scene: J D Chakravarthy who is boss of a corporate company lights a beedi along with a beggar when his Audi car breakdowns and he gives the keys to him to hand it over when the mechanic reaches this spot. And both of them talk about demonetization.
In another scene, J D Chakravarthy explains to his colleagues the importance of taking 'it' in hands to get mind relaxation.
When we get tired of watching these clueless proceedings, the director brings in Shraddha Das and inserts an engagement song. Such clumsy narration.
In a nutshell, 'Hippi' is aimed for youth but all it serves us is pointless double meaning dialogues and boring narration.
Bottom-line: Paradise Lost, Headache Gained
(Venkat Arikatla can be reached at [email protected])
