BOTTOM LINE
Irritating Romantic Drama
OUR RATING
1.75/5
CENSOR
2h 29m, ‘U’ Certified.
What Is the Film About?
Aryan (Dulquer Salmaan) and Mouna (Aditi Rao Hydari) have a love marriage. A couple of years later, the relationship sours, as Mouna cannot bear the non-working and highly talkative husband. The over-care that he takes irritates her.
When things reach a breaking point, Mouna finds a perfect means via Malarmozhi (Kajal) to divorce Aryan. What happens when Aryan starts doing precisely what Mouna wants him to do and how their relationship ends are the movie’s basic story.
Performances
Dulquer Salmaan plays Aryan, who is ‘The’ perfect guy. As is with such roles, they are incredibly dull. It is what we feel with Dulquer Salmaan as well for most of the duration. That we (as an audience) too are irritated with the character is simultaneously both good news and bad. It shows Dulquer Salmaan has done the required, but it fails to engage us in the narrative.
The character arc gets better towards the latter half of the second half, and that’s where we see some change in Dulquer Salmaan. He is alright, but there is nothing memorable here.
Analysis
Popular choreographer Brinda turns director with Hey Sinmika. In her directorial debut, she picks a simple love story and adds a slight twist in the tale to create the drama.
The opening establishing the relationship and marriage between Aryan and Mouna happens too quickly. It is not a problem initially, but when the subsequent irritating scenes take place back to back, one is sure to wonder how the couple fall in love in the first place. The brief explanation regarding the ‘language’ is not convincing.
The entire first half is a lengthy set-up for the interval mark. A whole hour takes place, and nothing but repetitive and irritating scenes take place one after the other. And when the story finally takes off with a twist in the tale, it is done in an amateurish and silly way.
The core plot twist is also nothing new. In Telugu (specifically), we have seen similar things in Bobbili Simham, Mavichiguru and Badri films. While the former are dated and don’t have much resemblance to the core idea, the last one is a bit closer. In Hey Sinamika, it is happening in a more modern setup.
The second half is comparatively better as the real emotions of the movie lie here. The problem is the one-dimensional portrayal of the characters and the forced nature of the emotions. So, all it takes is one table glance or a close conversion to set the realization.
What works are the conversations, in between, when Aryan takes on the RJ avatar. All trending topics are picked, and a message is delivered. Even here, the progression to a ‘live’ segment is weak. It only leads to a predictable confrontation block.
The climax with sappy and high pitched melodrama again undoes the good work. Still, a brief segment up to the pre-climax manages to hook the audience despite all the issues. The way Mouna’s character turns towards the other extreme (compared to where it began) dilutes the previous effort in the character build-up. Similarly, Aryan’s righteousness gets on our nerves. A balance is missing, and it hurts the climax.
Overall, Hey Sinamika has a brief, engaging stretch in the second half, and that’s it. The flat narration and predictable drama overpower the actors who do a good job individually. Hey Sinamika, therefore, is a forgettable fare barring for those brief moments.
Others?
Aditi Rao Hydari and Kajal Aggarwal are the only two developed characters besides the hero. Both do a neat job with the given material. In fact, it is the main trio that somehow makes one sit through the proceedings. Aditi is better at playing a more conventional role. Kajal has a smaller yet meatier part. She tried hard to emote and deliver decently.
Music and Other Departments?
The music by Govind Vasantha is decent, but the dubbing ruins any chance of likeability. The background score is better. Preetha Jayaraman’s cinematography is alright. A trendy modern urban visual is presented. Radha Sridhar’s editing could have been better. The writing is par for the course. The Telugu dubbing has been poorly done with not enough focus on lyrics and visuals (changing names, fonts etc.)
Highlights?
Casting
Few Conversations
Parts Of Drama In Second Half
Drawbacks?
Length
Weak Story
Predictable Drama
Alternative Take
Cutting down on the repetitive stuff of the first half and adding more on the drama side would be a fair start for an alternative take.
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, Very Few Parts
Will You Recommend It?
No
Hey Sinamika Telugu Movie Review by Siddartha Toleti
