'Arjuna Phalguna' Movie Review
Cast: Sree Vishnu, Amritha Aiyer,
Senior Naresh, Sivaji Raja, Subba Raju, Devi Prasad, Rangasthalam
Mahesh, Raj Kumar Kasireddy, Chaitanya and others
Music: Priyadarshan Balasubramanian
Cinematography: Jagadeesh Cheekati
Editor: Viplav Nyshadam
Producers: Niranjan Reddy, Anvesh Reddy
Writer - Director: Teja Marni
Talented hero Sree Vishnu has a knack for picking up interesting
stories. He secured a separate image for himself and his latest offering
'Arjuna Phalguna' raised expectations with its intriguing yet
entertaining trailer. Amritha Aiyer is the heroine in this film which is
written and directed by Teja Marni. The team looked quite confident
during the pre-release event and let us see if 'Arjuna Phalguna' reached
those levels or not.
Story:
Arjun (Sree Vishnu) is a
regular guy who spends time with his friends happily. He goes to any
lengths for his four friends and ends up becoming a drug peddler as one
of his pals lands himself in trouble. He and his friends get caught by a
strict and ruthless cop (Subbaraju) while moving drugs from Araku. The
road from there on is filled with a lot of turns and how they come out
of it forms the rest of the story.
Analysis:
'Arjuna
Phalguna' is an example of how tough it is to bring something onto the
screen in the exact same way it is written on paper. The premise is
interesting and the way the director explains the film's title at the
beginning gets you invested. The audience may get the feeling that they
are in for a perfect ride but what they are unaware it that it is a
journey filled with bumps and obstacles. Despite being a few minutes
above the two-hour mark, 'Arjuna Phalguna' feels lengthy and dragged in a
lot of places. The poor execution of the director has to be blamed for
this.
A few jokes workout in the film and the makers were
successful is getting the slang and Godavari districts vibe perfectly.
Sree Vishnu tried to do the best he can as we can see his effort on the
screen. Despite being slow, the first half is passable. Even during this
part, the makers take a lot of time to establish the story and the
first major twist comes at the interval. You expect the second half to
be stronger but this is where things go further below in 'Arjuna
Phalguna'.
There is a lot of inconsistency in the film and one
good scene is followed by a couple of poorly written ones which spoil
the flow. Also, village-based crime thrillers need to get the logic
right but the makers disappoint in this aspect. Scenes in the pre-climax
and climax are outright uninteresting and make you scratch your head.
Despite some good backing from the technical team, able performers along
with a few thrills and laughs, 'Arjuna Pahlguna' does not live up to
the expectations. After walking out of the theatre people wonder why
Sree Vishnu and Matinee Entertainments banner who are known for their
good taste in scripts agreed to work on this film.
Performances:
Sree
Vishnu pulls off this role quite easily. He did complete justice and
his subtlety is his biggest strength. He scores major brownie points in
this disappointing venture. Amritha Aiyer looks good onscreen but she
doesn't have much to do as his character is not etched properly.
'Rangasthalam' Mahesh gives a decent performance and rest of the friends
group are adequate too. Naresh plays the negative role effectively and
the rest of the cast members are okay.
Barring the hero, you remember none of the other actors due to the poor characterizations from the makers.
Technicians:
The
music by Priyadarshan is good and some songs are well-composed. His
background score is commendable as it tries to elevate many jarring
portions. The camera work is decent and the visuals look perfect
considering the limited budget. The production values are fine and so is
the art designing. It is the editing where things could have been a lot
better. The film ends up feeling dragged and some portions could have
been chopped off to reduce the length despite having a short runtime
originally.
Coming to director Teja Marni, he is a huge fan of
NTR and we can see it in many scenes. He wrote a good storyline and even
extracted good performances from the lead cast. But it is his
screenplay that lets him down. As said earlier, one good scene is
followed by a couple of bad ones which spoils the viewing experience.
His narration leaves a lot to be desired and the film ends up as a
disappointment.
Verdict: Arjuna Phalguna - Poorly Executed Film
Rating: 1.75/5
Disclaimer
: This Review is An Opinion of One Person. Please Do Not Judge The
Movie Based On This Review And Watch Movie in Theatre
