Dear Comrade Review – Uneventful Comrade

BOTTOM LINE
Uneventful Comrade

OUR RATING
2.5/5

CENSOR
‘UA’ – 169 Minutes

What Is the Film About?
Chaitanya aka Bobby (Vijay Deverakonda) and Aparna Devi aka Lilly (Rashmika Mandanna) are childhood friends who reunite after some gap. Lilly is passionate about cricket, which Bobby discovers slowly. But Lilly’s dream ends in the middle due to an unexpected event. How Bobby rekindles the fire in Lilly towards cricket and stands by her in achieving her goal? How he helps her overcome the personal and professional problem is what the movie is all about?

Performances?
Dear Comrade is genuinely a film where both the lead actors have similar footage. In fact, it can be said that the female has a little bit bigger role in the narrative, which in this case is Rashmika Mandanna.

All said and done, Vijay Deverakonda is still the hero, and he is in charge of the proceedings whether the story is taking place from his point of view or not. He is in a comfortable and familiar zone as an actor. We have seen him do all the variations previously. There is no surprise with his act, including the intensity, and emotional scenes which are on predictable lines.

Having said that, there is nothing bad either, to criticise or pull him down. It is a regular act, and Vijay Deverakonda goes about it clinically without any complaints. Maybe this would be a regular thing going forward from him. It could then be seen as the first attempt where we feel that normalisation.

Rashmika Mandanna, on the other hand, gets a role with a neat character arc. It is the lifeline of the movie. The entire narrative rests on her act, and she gives her best. Still, one can feel that something is missing. Again, there is nothing she does to weaken the proceedings. But at the same time, Rashmika doesn’t lift it either. The latter is a requirement for the movie to work in a more significant way.

Direction by Bharat Kamma?
Bharat Kamma, a short film director, makes a full-fledged movie debut with Dear Comrade. Like many before him who have made a similar jump, one can see footprints of the directorial style in what they have done earlier. We can see, and feel the same with Bharat Kamma here.

The subject of Dear Comrade is straight-up his alley which deals more with human emotions rather than present any big twists or turns. Dear Comrade is a journey of two characters together where one helps the other in overcoming their fears and achieving the goals.

Right from the beginning, the attempt is to create small, realistic, memorable moments that linger with the viewers. It is not the story, but these ‘moments’ which has to work for the narrative to take its effect. Those who watch other language movies might see this in a few Malayalam flicks. The influence can’t be denied. Unfortunately, the ‘magic of moments’ never happens barring a few random sequences. The effort is there, but the result lacks the intended effect.

The reasons are simple, and if one has seen Bharat Kamma’s short films, they would have identified the problem there itself. The writing is plain-Jane, and scenes itself lack the bite despite the visible sincerity. It is like a painter painting the wall all day as if he is creating a Picasso, but we know it isn’t, or a batsman is showcasing the various styles of shots without scoring a run, it doesn’t matter. The predictability of the narrative has to be broken by either one of the elements (writing or freshly conceived scenes), but that never happens.

The same weaknesses are covered when it’s a song. Here the music combined with the montages does the trick in making one forget the routineness of the whole exercise, albeit briefly. The problem with Dear Comrade in this regard is there are one too many of them, which has its adverse effect.

After going through the first half patiently, one hopes for some twist and engaging drama in the second half. The initial few sequences raise our expectations too, but they are cut short, and we get back to a routine.

The idea behind a “Comrade” is alright, but the narrative is dull and lacks the bite to make a firm impression. The way the turnaround is shown in the end comes across as silly. After all the effort done to build the character and world slowly, the way the climax is done makes it look rushed (the way Cricket board quickly takes sides).

In the end, Dear Comrade is a sincerely made work that is devoid of any surprises. The characters too tread a predictable path making the narrative dull. It is a one-time watch if you have nothing else to do in the weekend and are in a must-see a movie mood.

Other Artists:
Dear Comrade has no proper characters besides the main leads. There are many that we see, but none have an importance in the core plot of the film which revolves around Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna.

Suhas and Shruti Ramachandran have some bits, but one forgets them as soon as they are out of the frame. The actor playing Cricket board chairman is alright. He too has limited screen time to have any effect.

Music and Other Departments?
Justin Prabhakaran and Bharat Kamma seem to gel well together. The musician has been involved in the director’s short film as well. He has done a fantastic job in Dear Comrade. The songs, although overdone are still among the best parts of the movie. The background score is impressive, as well. The cinematography is neat. The town feel of Kakinada has been captured naturally. The editing needed to be sharp as the movie feels very lengthy. The writing is flat with no real depth.

Highlights?
Songs
A few cute moments
Comrade message for girls

Drawbacks?
Run time
Lack of magic in love story
Ordinary writing
Zero entertainment

Alternative Take
It has to the writing first of all and then later, a little depth in the internal politics of the Cricket board without going away from the central plot.

Did I Enjoy It?
No

Will You Recommend It?
No

Dear Comrade Review by KK-US