'Brochevarevaru Ra', starring Sri Vishnu and others, hit the screens this Friday. Here is our review of the crime comedy directed by 'Mental Madhilo' fame director Vivek Athreya.
Story:
Rahul (Sri Vishnu), Rakesh (Priyadarshi) and Rambo (Rahul Ramakrishna) are dullard Intermediate students in the same college where Mitra (Nivetha Thomas) studies.
Mitra, the daughter of the college's principal, has no interest in academics and her passion lies in Bharatnatyam. Her domineering father is her biggest disappointment in life. As the child of a single parent, she has had it tough.
Somewhere in Hyderabad, Vishal (Satyadev) is an aspiring filmmaker who is trying to rope in actress Shalini (Nivetha Pethuraj) for his maiden venture.
When Mitra prods the three friends in her college to stage a kidnap drama, an unexpected turn of events ensues. This changes the lives of the four students as well as the Vishal-Shalini duo.
Why does Mitra want to orchestrate her own abduction? How do the lives of the three friends and Mitra intertwine with the lives of the Vishal-Shalini duo? Answers to these are found in the second half.
Analysis:
Writer-director Vivek Athreya comes equipped with situational comedy, which is the biggest and most durable asset of the movie. Almost all the characters are either innately good or quirky or happily imperfect.
The first half unfolds like a whiff of fresh air. The characterizations of the three male friends are rib-tickling. How they end up befriending Mitra is another interesting thread. Shivaji Raja plays that frustrated father of Sri Vishnu and the very few scenes involving them are good.
At one level, the film reminds us of the blundering characters in 'Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi', wherein the friends invite troubles. Sri Vishnu's character misses his mobile phone twice and complicates his own life. What is the probability of this happening to anyone in a matter of a few months? Eventually, what everyone thinks of as a blunder turns out to be a blessing in disguise. The climax unravels the goodness of life.
Besides the cutesy college campus scenes, the character of the Circle Inspector, played by Harsharvardhan, is hilarious.
The film propagates the idea that it's always better to make peace with family members, for we have no choice. To this extent, it strikes the right chord. The chemistry and banter of the Vishnu-Priyadarshi-Rahul trio is a big asset and takes care of much of the second half.
Vivek Sagar's songs are blended with the proceedings. Sai Sriram's cinematography is efficient.
The second half slackens and the pace doesn't take off permanently. The screenplay starts seeming too convenient. The humour quotient also takes a heavy beating in this half.
Ajay Ghosh's character comes unfleshed, and seems to be a mere cog in the wheel. Nivetha Thomas's character is reduced to nothing consequential. After hyping up so much about her "spirited" character, this was not expected. Let alone her classical dance, she doesn't have the ability to explain to her father?
The second half could have been shorter and less indulgent of the coincidences that happen in the lives of the main characters.
Verdict:
'Brochevarevaru Ra' is a crime comedy. Situational comedy, characterizations, breezy screenplay in the first half are its assets. On the other hand, the second half comes undone with convenient, half-baked writing.
