BOTTOM LINE
Spoiled by Terrible Execution
OUR RATING
2/5
CENSOR
13+, 1Hr 34mins.
What Is the Film About?
Abhi (Viraj Ashwin) is a spoilt brat who has no care for money, friends, family or love. On the other hand, Priya (Anasuya Bharadwaj) is a struggling middle-class pregnant woman who has recently lost her husband.
How these two unrelated personalities come together? How it changes the life of Abhi is what the movie is all about?
How Is Anasuya Bhardwaj’s Performance?
The film has minimal characters. Anasuya Bharadwaj and Viraj Ashwin are the lead actor, but not in a traditional sense. It is these two roles and their back story that drives the narrative.
Among the two, Viraj has a lion share portion of the work concerning the drama. Anasuya, too, has decent screen time, but the action still is on Viraj’s part. Viraj gets to do an Arjun Reddy redux. He further brings Ranveer Singh brash persona into the mix. Viraj tries, but it doesn’t work due to the poor writing and setting. His best moments come towards the end in the lift.
Anasuya Bharadwaj does her usual at the start. However, it is towards the end, she too, shines. As a pregnant woman, she brings reality to the act.
Direction by Ramesh Raparthi?
Ramesh Raparthi directs Thankyou Brother. It has a simple plot, which is also taken from a foreign movie. Whatever might be the case, the film needs a gripping narrative to hold attention due to the wafer-thin storyline.
Unfortunately, Ramesh Raparthi fails in getting an engaging quality. Right from the opening sequences, we get an idea of where the movie is headed. The execution is to blame here more than the performance. There is some effort on the latter, but the former is terrible.
The writing is an additional issue to deal with along with the execution. The sequences at the apartment (involving Sameer) or at the home where Abhi spends a night with someone’s girlfriend are immediate examples to know the problem. They are so poorly done and shot. It instantly generates a tacky vibe.
The over the top, and aggressive segment, makes the other half involving Anasuya and middle-class sensibilities look better in comparison. It is also weak, but due to Abhi’s track, it looks better.
Nothing engaging or exciting happens until the intermission mark when the two strangers are locked in a lift. It generates a minor curiosity to know what happens next.
However, the proceedings are hampered by terrible acting, writing and characterisations in the second half. The concerned woman who finds about the two struck in the lift or Kadambari Kiran; their roles are poorly thought out and written. We get the idea behind them, but visually it is difficult to watch them with a straight face.
It is only towards the penultimate half an hour that one feels somewhat interested in the narrative. The emotions of a pregnant woman about to deliver and a reckless guy overcoming his problem to help make one hooked a little. But, it is only a little bit.
The mother and son angle is also core to the narrative, but it is also not explored convincingly. It appears as a mere add-on in the end.
Overall, Thankyou Brother fails to hold attention for the most part of the narrative. The two lead actors are alright, but their efforts are marred by tacky execution.
Ashwin and Others?
Harsha is terribly wasted. In fact, he looks disinterred throughout. It looked like the same case with Anish Kuruvilla, as well. But he gets some decent moments in the end. Archana Ananth gets a crucial role, and she is alright.
Music and Other Departments?
Guna Balasubramanian’s background score is excellent. It easily stands out due to the rest of the substandard work. The cinematography is ordinary, giving a short film, serial kind of vibe. The editing is below par. The narrative feels so lengthy despite such short run-time. The writing is banal. It lacks depth and fails to give an emotional connection
Highlights?
BGM
Final Fifteen Minutes
Short Length
Drawbacks?
Poor Execution
Weak Direction
Writing
Alternative Take
Better writing and engaging and immersive supportive acts would have elevated the movie, without any doubt.
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Thank You Brother Telugu Movie Review by Siddartha Toleti
