Rating: 2/5
Banner: Mythri Movie Makers
Cast: Nandamuri Kalyanram, Ashika Ranganath, Jayaprakash, Brahmaji, Saptagiri, Kalyani Venkatraman and others
Music: Ghibran
Cinematographer: Soundararajan
Editor: Thammiraju
Director: Rajendra Reddy
Producers: Naveen Yerneni, Y Ravi Shankar
Release date: Feb 10th, 2023
Nandamuri Kalyanram is riding high with the success of his last film ‘Bimbisaara’ and this time he has attempted something novel by taking up a triple role. Let us see if he is successful in this one.
Story
Siddharth (Kalyanram) is a successful entrepreneur and he is all set to get married to his ladylove Ishika (Ashika). Due to one incident, he gets intrigued with the idea of searching for his doppelganger and through that attempt, he meets two identical men Manju and Michael (Kalyanram again). While Manju is an IT employee, Michael comes from Kolkata. Meanwhile, the NIA is on a hunt for a most wanted terrorist Bipin and their search leads them to Siddharth. How is Siddharth involved in it, what are the challenges he faces. All this forms the rest of the tale.
Performances
Nandamuri Kalyanram has done justice to all the three roles and the one to watch out for is that of Michael. The styling, body language, expressions and mannerisms worked well and suited him aptly. Ashika Ranganath is pretty and she has shown her glamour angle wherever possible. Jayaprakash was decent. Brahmaji was upto the mark. Saptarigi was brief. Kalyani was graceful. The actor who did the role of NIA superior officer was elegant.
Crew
Inspired from the concept of doppelganger, the story was written and while the presentation was good, the narrative could have been better. The script was concise but the screenplay could have been tighter. The background score was very good and two songs ‘Monster’ and ‘Yenno Raatrulostayi Kaani’ were impressive. Editing was required in the second half. Costumes were stylish and the art department was colorful. The production values were sensible and didn’t go overboard. The other departments did their bit as required.
Hits
Concept
‘Yenno Raatrulostayi’ song
Misses
Second half
No peaks
Predictable sequences
Lackluster narration
Deeper Look
The idea of finding a doppelganger is interesting and many years ago, a Hollywood movie featuring Drew Barrymore did well at the box office. However, the director had ample scope to play with the story and make it more engaging with good number of twists and turns. While he was able to establish the plot properly, he failed to leverage from there and create that suspenseful or edge of the seat moments. The film takes off on the right note but within forty five minutes the plot gets exposed. The interval bang then became expected. Again, just like most of the filmmakers fail, the second half failed to lift the proceedings. It is here that the cat and mouse game could have been more gripping and enough tension could have been created but the director took a safe route and made it a routine tale. Kalyanram’s role as the antagonist hooked to a large extent and that infused some soul into the film. At the box office, the film may attract some initial audience but the word of mouth publicity is going to determine its fate. One good thing is, the director didn’t spend lavishly so for now, it appears that the film might scrape through as a safe bet or an above average grosser.
Vox Verdict
Not Ok!
