BOTTOM LINE
Less Bhala, More Bore!
OUR RATING
2.25/5
CENSOR
‘UA’
What Is the Film About?
Chandu (Sree Vishnu) works as an accountant in an orphanage. He falls for Sasirekha (Catherine Tresa), an investigative journalist who tries to cover a raid on the orphanage. Later, they together bump into a 2000 Crore Hawala money unexpectedly. The rest of the story is all about the real motives and real identities which leads to new twists and turns in the saga.
Performances
There are two shades in Sree Vishnu’s. The first one is the usual innocent boy next door. He is decent as always. The second shade is an unexpected dimension. We see some portions where he looks wayward and some portions where he is fully confident. Usually, his frail body and soft nature do not bring believability to such characters. But he managed it well.
Catherine Tresa gets a reasonable role which is concentrated more in the first half. Looks-wise, the actress looks a bit out of shape. The dubbing (which looks like her own dubbing) is out of sync in many places and is also odd. Coming to performance, she is a mixed bag. There are places where she struggled a lot and places where she is okay.
KGF fame Garuda Ram plays the antagonist in the movie but he does not bring any fireworks onto the screen. Neither his characterization nor performance adds any value to the role. Posani is alright in the role of yet another comical villain. Srinivas Reddy plays a sidekick kind of role to the heroine and is routine. Comedy actor Satya gets a sizeable role and manages a few giggles here and there. The rest of the characters are not so significant.
Analysis
Bhala Thandanana is predominantly a story about how 2000 Crore Hawala money goes missing from a conman. Director Chaitanya Danthuluri uses most of the first half to establish the characters of the hero and heroines and the relationship between them. These portions have a few fun moments here and there. Some good writing and comedy by Satya worked here.
However, they are not so relevant to the actual story. The interval twist is a decent one and will trigger the actual story. The way how the director masked the twist until then makes sense. The second half is more of the story and the action involved. The initial parts divulge further details of the ‘twist’. But we get a feeling that there are too many cinematic liberties missing logic.
We have so many things happening, and some of them work. But there is no proper backdrop or motive about why it is happening. All of sudden, the weak become strong and start doing unexpected things. We see the proceedings happening as per his command. The director does not have a proper justification or the necessary buildup to ensure that we do not look for the justification. The climax again happens in a jiffy with too many cinematic liberties and unbelievable stuff happening.
Another problem in the whole episode is that despite the tag of ‘KGF’, the villain’s character is poorly written. If that is nicely written, we may see the hero character getting elevated but that is not the case. The villain character is a further letdown in the climax.
Bhala Thandanana is that kind of film where we see moments of promise from start to the end. The director has a potential story but the screenplay is a disappointment. The movie would have made sense if the loose ends are addressed. But since they are not done, and it’s a screenplay of convenience we get a flat narrative with some portions working in bits and pieces. It is that kind of experience that we can not enjoy totally or write off totally.
Overall, Bhala Thandanana had a potential premise for a commercial entertainer, but a weak screenplay and uneven narrative mar the experience. The parts never come together as a whole to deliver the required punch, and end up as a below-average fare.
Music and Other Departments?
Director Chaitanya Danthuluri does a decent job as the director. Srikanth Vissa, the story writer should have worked further in making the good subject into a good script. The dialogues, however, work largely well. Mani Sharma’s songs are disappointing while the Background score works. The VFX part especially in the Interval fight is not up to the mark. The action part is alright. The camera work is just about okay while editing is fine. The production values are okay with the budget involved.
Highlights?
Storyline & Some Dialogues
A few twists
Background Score
Drawbacks?
Taking too much time at the start
The chemistry between the lead pair.
Too Many Cinematic Liberties
Weak Villain
Unconvincing Ending
Alternative Take
An approach similar (not the same) to Raja Raja Chora in giving a proper motive and connecting the protagonist and antagonist would have made Bhala Thandanana better. The lack of clarity on why the hero does what he does could be avoided in this way.
Did I Enjoy It?
In Bits and Pieces.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, But With Huge Reservations
Bhala Thandanana Movie Review by M9News
