'Highway' is currently streaming on Aha. In this section, we are going to review the direct-to-service release.
Story:
When a dreaded psycho killer (Abhishek Banerjee) is on the prowl on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Chief Investigation Officer Asha Bharathi (Saiyami Kher) has her task cut out. She has to be ahead of him before he kills his next prey. This is when a damsel in distress named Tulasi (Manasa Radhakrishnan) has the danger of getting kidnapped by the killer. And a photographer named Vishnu (Anand Deverakonda) alone can save her.
Analysis:
Director KV Guhan, who has not only written the film but is also its cinematographer, pens a very basic plot that is both outdated and outlandish. The old-school thrills, the elementary tropes, and the weak climax test the viewer's patience.
Although this is the age of meaty thrillers and bona fide twists, from time to time, there come thrillers that stretch logic, taking the audience's kindness for granted. But 'Highway' goes many steps ahead by infusing a climax that has little dialogue and even little intelligence. The way the fate of a key character is sealed, it could have been spell-binding, but since the writing is skeletal in nature, the feeling is that it's contrived and convenient. For that matter, the film is full of contrived occurrences, right from the way Tulasi and Vishnu cross paths. What is even more artificial is the way the psycho killer runs into Tulasi around the same time.
At less than 120 minutes, 'Highway' cries for believable plotting. The investigation track is laughable. At one stage, Inspector Asha Bharathi says, 'How come I couldn't figure out such a basic thing?'. That's because she must be an alien from Mars pretending to be a smart-ass top cop in the Hyderabad crime police department. Even a rookie would be better than the dim-witted lady.
Then comes the Tulasi-Vishnu track, which is stuffed with lifeless chemistry and listless emotions. The very reason why Tulasi ends up on the highway is unremarkably 1980s. And the way this track is narrated is sans any depth or emotions.
The psycho killer's track is undone by vague characterization, an irritating backstory, his supremely cliched demeanour, and cliched dialogue delivery. The performances, as it is, are superficial. John Vijay, of all, delivers a performance that can put you off at the first instance.
Simon K King's BGM alone attempts to make this dud somewhat watchable. The production values are sub-par.
Verdict:
The old-school thrills, the elementary tropes, and the weak climax test the viewer's patience.
