Director Uday Ananthan’s White opens to a scene set in what looks like a posh seaside bungalow. A woman wakes up from her sleep and dramatically lights a lamp in front of a Krishna idol. Her roommate ridicules her for being an uncool, old-fashioned girl in a city like Bangalore.
Everything about this scene is a farce – this seaside resort-like home in Bangalore, and the attempt to pass a quintessential Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi for a 25-year-old orthodox Malayalee girl with a name as unremarkable as Roshni Menon.
*****
White narrates the story of Roshni Menon (Huma Qureshi) and Prakash Roy, a middle-aged millionaire she comes across in London, where she is on an official visit. Roy starts stalking her and even threatens her of legal consequences if she refuses to give in to his demands. Nevertheless, the girl falls in love with this enigmatic man, who has a troubled past and present, and a bleak future, thanks to his staunch alcoholism and volatile state of mind.
*****
Interestingly, in spite of being drunk and absent-minded all the time, Roy’s get up is flawless. So prim and proper, healthy and white, he might remind one of Mammootty in South Indian bank TV commercial. He could walk a ramp at London Fashion Week anytime.
It is hard to decide which is the worst element in this movie – the absolute absence of logic in its story, bad performances of the artistes or the poorly written screenplay and dialogues.
Recommended
Huma Qureshi is made to lip-sync to abysmal Malayalam dialogues, dubbed by Raveena Ravi. While Huma falters on every bit, Raveena hams it up. Mammootty’s dialogues are equally awful. “Is this a bloody game?,” asks an exasperated Roshni, tired of being stalked and nagged by a stranger who is old enough to be her father. Roy replies with a deadpan face, “This is not a game. But football is a game. A celebration.” What is worse than dealing with a stalker? Dealing with a stalker who is borderline insane. Like an infatuated teenager, Roy plans a birthday surprise for Roshni, in the middle of the night. “I didn’t want to be the first person to wish you. Nor the last person. I wanted to be just a person,” he tells her. Could it be any cornier?
*****
White is an extension of what Mammootty has been doing of late – choosing roles that are an insult to his long-standing acting career. There is nothing in this movie that rises above mediocrity. Songs, composed by Rahul Raj are forgettable, visuals are random, and the philosophies the film tries to make sense of, are flat.
*****
A drag that tries to weave a poignant tale out of a silly love story, White is hollow and tasteless.
***