Though shot tastefully, the screenwriting and treatment are bland and overstretched. It is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali production where the flaws are charming, but the spark is missing. And the words that add spice to the proceedings have been muted. Conversations on body positivity and inclusivity in fashion are not new. Similarly, with the advent of private news channels, the purity of language is no longer a concern in living rooms and boardrooms. So when the makers hang the story on the twin pegs, the conflict seems overstated. The mental block, though real, remains on paper. When Shashank suggests what seems easy to others, it becomes a mountain to climb for him; it rings a bell, but the sentiment seldom seeps through the screen to grip you. While it avoids being overly melodramatic, it also shies away from deeper confrontation with the city’s harsher realities.
So, a script with the potential for an entertaining political drama gets reduced to the conflicts such as resort politics and a corporate villain (this time, it’s government-led land grabbing).
It is delightful to see her first tryst with love unfold like a silent film as Siddhu (Rachit Singh), a likeable Sikh music teacher is smitten by her beauty.
He makes us feel for the character, and is quite impressive in the final portions of the movie, where Balarama struggles to break free from the underworld’s trap.
After Rocky, every successive film has felt less grounded and more emotionally contrived, as if even the slightest scope for lyricism in writing exists only to propel the oncoming action set piece.
Eschewing the mindless violence common in mainstream cinema, writer-director Gunasekhar delivers a sharp fictional drama rooted in a harrowing true story that shook Hyderabad.
Tejaswi complements every emotional beat of the movie with his superb score, and his songs — perhaps the best album in Kannada this year — elevate the film.
