Cast: Dhruv Vikram, Banita Sandhu, Anbu Thasan, Priya Anand, Raja
Director: Gireesaaya
Music Director: Radhan
Toxic masculinity, aggressiveness and the belief that all of this is absolutely right are just few of the questionable ideas that Adithya Varma propagates. Right from its original Arjun Reddy to the remakes that followed, this has been the template. But despite all this, to carry a substantial role of this sort and to be able to convince the audience of the mercurial titular character is a tedious task. Dhruv Vikram excels in it, not showinge any trace of being a debutant through the film.
A final-year, ill-tempered, medical student Adithya Varma (Dhruv Vikram) falls in ‘love’ with a fresher, a demure Meera Shetty (Banita Sandhu) and the two hit it off. Because of Adi’s cantankerous nature, things don’t turn out in their favour, causing the two to separate, leaving Adi a victim of drugs and substance abuse. The non-linear narrative does get very monotonous towards the end with repeated shots of alcohol consumption and drugs. However, credit must go to the director, for his effort to stage the scenes a bit differently. I was glad I didn’t witness an exact replica of the original.
Dhruv looks and plays his part quite convincingly. Though Banita Sandhu was disappointing. In a character-driven story especially where the heroine has a major role, this was an opportunity wasted.
Priya Anand appears for a short while but is very effective. She’s at ease on screen. Leela Samson, who plays Dhruv’s grandmother also occupies little screen space but is very impactful throughout.
Anbu Thasan (Paarthi) does impress with his comic one-liners but doesn’t impress too much with his performance. Though he had a good role here compared to his last outing Kolamaavu Kokila, I couldn’t understand why his makeup was so awful, making him look greasy throughout the film. If it was an attempt to remind one of Rahul Ramakrishna (who played the friend in Arjun Reddy) the makers have failed miserably.
3-2
Cinematographer Ravi K Chandran infuses every frame with his trademark style. Eka Lakhani’s costumes stand out. The songs by Radhan aren’t too impressive except for the standard background score used in all three versions.
All said and done, this need to keep remaking a film that glorifies a chauvinistic man, does not show any progress in the mindsets of filmmakers and scriptwriters who seem to be staunch believers that men must be fierce and women must be submissive. But they cannot take the entire blame, because our audience encourages this and believes that this is the way relationships work. Many young women in the theatre were clapping and cheering every move of the protagonist. The rot runs deep in our system.
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The Adithya Varma review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have any commercial relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.
