bethaludu review, saithan review
Telugu360 Rating 2.5/5
Vijay Anthony’s “Betaaludu” built bigger expectations ahead of the release and many hoped that the actor-producer-music director will repeat the magic of “Bichagadu” which turned out to be the biggest giant-killer of 2016. The film even released footage of the first nine minutes of the film generating huge hype. But the movie disappoints with a story that is a mix of supernatural thriller, psychology and criminal elements, something has gone amiss in the execution of the plot. Whether the fault lies with the complex plot selection or the characterization of the hero or the half-hearted treatment of the various angles the director wanted to project through the main plot, the audience feels disconnected with the film half-way.
Story:
Dinesh (Vijay Anthony) is a successful computer professional who is a successful trouble-shooter with all the big data and algorithmic challenges handled by his firm and his boss Anand Mahendroo trusts him on all complex work-problems. In due course, he marries a simple homemaker Aiswarya (Arundhati Nayar). Just as the marital bliss gets better comes a realization that Dinesh is hearing another person’s voice in his head besides his own voice. The experience gets bizarre and even supernatural which confounds Dinesh and turns his world upside down. Is it hallucination? Is it an evil spirit? Or is he re-incarnated as somebody who is believed to have been murdered? The quest lands him in a chair at a therapist’s clinic who gets to the root of some problems but the film takes a few more puzzling turns in the second half including a run-in with a dangerous gang that uses killer drugs to steal organs from human beings just before they passed out under the effect of those drugs.
Performances:
As a story which runs for 129 minutes, the film is compact but lacks the many-layered emotions that could have been packaged in a film of this genre. Right from the start, the film takes on a serious note and makes you keep guessing on what is exactly the matter with the hero of the film as he grapples with the dual voice inside his head. The little romance between Dinesh and Aishwarya is the only relief and bits of subtle comedy. Performance-wise, Vijay Anthony looks convincing again in his portrayal in the two roles, he seems to have a knack of selecting roles which keep him in a zone of stable temperament and subdued emotions except when the situation gets volatile once in a while. Like in most films, the film uncorks the bottle of emotions in the climax with an epic fight and a rush of emotions of love and hatred and resentment at the same time. Arundhati Nayar and Anand Mahendroo are effective in their respective roles and the new pack of villains show their mettle in the few scenes. Music by Vijay Anthony has the same variation as in most of his films – montage songs with plenty of instrumentation and serve the basic utility that he seems to follow as a credo – functional and effective as a BGM and minimalistic in output. Cinematography and special effects are neat and pack a punch at few places almost reminding you of the spectacular Hollywood Fx.
Where the film falters is that the loose ends of the many angles do not get properly addressed in the end? Is it re-incarnation or supernatural or drug abuse – the scenes sometimes confuse you and the tying up is not perfectly done. Because of this and the overall low-intensity of emotions, the film flounders in giving a satisfactory feel at the end. In trying to give an esoteric twist to the film which could have also been dealt alternatively in much more convincing fashion, the film disappoints the fans of Vijay Anthony despite his best efforts and the effort by director Pradeep Krishnamurthy. The film begins with a credit to the famous Tamil Writer Sujatha who is known to blend sci-fi, psycho-thriller genres into credible stories of romance. Despite such a legendary attribution, the rewriting of the plot for the film is unimaginative – the screenplay which moves like a narrative between a patient and a therapist actually dullness the whole pace giving the plot away at interval until of course the climax puts some more intrigue. The plus points of the film are the performances of the lead pair, the technical aspects of cinematography, music and SFX. But for the rest, the film doesn’t strike gold and also fails to convince you or leave you satisfied.
Telugu360 Rating 2.5/5
