BOTTOM LINE
Illogical Drama
OUR RATING
1.75/5
CENSOR
‘A’, 2h 6m
What Is the Film About?
Mukhachitram is the story of Raj (Vikas Vasista) – a plastic surgeon, Maya (Ayesha Khan) – a childhood girlfriend, and Mahathi (Priya Vadlamani) – the woman he marries. While everything is going well in their lives, two accidents lead to Maya taking Mahathi’s face. And unexpected turns lead to Raj facing the danger of arrest.
Performances
Mukhachitram has a relatively new cast. The film is predominantly the story of Vikas Vasista, Priya Vadlamani, and Ayesha Khan. Chaitanya Rao, who plays the supporting character, also gets good screen space. The good thing about Vikas Vasista is that he has a good voice. There is a rawness in his act. We feel he is decent in some places, and in some areas, he struggles, like the emotional moment during the interval block. There is a lot of scope to improve, and hopefully, he will take care of it going forward.
Priya Vadlamani gets the character with a lot of substance, and again she delivers a mixed bag. People may find issues with her looks, and she struggled on many important occasions. At the same time, a few moments worked for her in the second half. Ayesha Khan looks good and is okay in the role she is offered. Chaitanya Rao is decent as a supporting character.
Vishwak Sen and Ravishankar are seen in cameo roles. Ravishankar performs as expected of him in the role of a senior lawyer. In the case of Vishwak, it is a disappointment that his talent is wasted in a poorly-written role like this. He did well towards the end, but for a significant portion, he looked indifferent and unenthusiastic.
Analysis
Mukhachitram has the story, screenplay, and dialogues by the talented Sandeep Raj and a newcomer, Gangadhar, directs the film. With Sandeep Raj associated with the film, there will be natural expectations of the film. They eventually turn out to be the strength as well as weakness of the flick.
Mukhachitram has a story with a thriller-kind of twist and a relevant message at the end delivered in a courtroom drama. Normally, these three items, rightly packaged and delivered, can do a lot of good to a film. But the packaging is so poorly done that they all go waste.
The twist is a decent surprise on paper, but the way it is revealed and how it is landed makes it so ordinary. The actors’ performance and the artists’ character arc at that moment takes the fizz out of it altogether.
After the twist is revealed, the message part is dropped out of the blue. It is definitely relevant but is not conveyed effectively. Everything happens because it is ought to happen, and hence an illogical approach is taken to get to the point. The key twists in the second half are a case in point. They are silly in execution despite all the seriousness on display.
The climax courtroom drama is also very poorly handled. The director and writer have two performers in, Vishwak Sen and Ravishankar. But they are portrayed as paupers giving lectures. The courtroom drama is just both lawyers delivering pages of dialogue, leaving the audience scratching their heads.
Luckily, some part towards the end (particularly) works out and doesn’t entirely spoil the show. The dialogues worked in a couple of places. The message is pertinent and well delivered, but it comes way too late in the day to have any positive turnaround.
The first half is pretty ordinary, with a flat graph. The interval bang gives a slight hope, but the second half has too many illogical things happening in all seriousness, with nothing working.
Overall, Mukhachitram carries a decent promise in parts but is let down badly by poor writing and illogical scenes. The subject has potential elements, but they fail to leave an impact. In the end, what we get is an unsatisfactory outing.
Music and Other Departments?
Kala Bhairava stands out in the technical departments. The songs work well with the flow of the story. The background score worked really well in parts, especially in the second half. As said earlier, Sandeep Raj has disappointed with the writing. New director Gangadhar could not add much to that afterwards. The camera work by Sreenivas Bejugam is okay and in accordance with the film’s budget. The movie has a crisp runtime, but still, it tests the patience at places.
Highlights?
Kaalabhairava’s BGM in parts
Touches an important concept
Ending dialogues
Drawbacks?
Poor Writing
Zero logic in several key scenes
Impact-less Courtroom drama
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Mukhachitram Movie Review by M9News
