Column: Random musings on Arjun Reddy

Bharath Vijayakumar

Enough of stories about engineers with a troubled romantic life. What about a doctor? What about a doctor with anger management issues? What about a doctor who is an alcoholic? You might even think that changing the setting may not be a huge difference. But it is and this is one of the many reasons which makes this film so different from a Premam or a Kirik Party.To be fair, apart from that fact that all these 3 films are coming of age stories of their protagonists, there is very little to be compared other than the charisma of their lead actors.Though this film is about the romantic pursuit of its hero we actually get to know a lot more about him other than his love life. I am not trying to really compare these 3 films but somehow there seems to be a notion (atleast among a few) that this is Telugu cinema's answer to Premam and Kirik Party. I honestly do not buy this opinion.

People have been going gaga over Vijay Deverakonda's portrayal of Arjun Reddy. Yes! He owns the screen for a little over 3 hours. I was wondering why the name of the hero as the title. This surely isn't an action film or a mass masala. But towards the end we do realize that only this could have been the most apt title because this is really a film only about him. Given a hypothetical situation, we could at this point even guess on how he would respond to the situation as we now sort of know him in and out. This is a very tricky role. Arjun Reddy is not an instantly likable character. His anger knows no bounds.You do something even unintentionally that he does not like and he isn't going to bother to explain to you. You end up being yelled at or with a punch in your nose. To travel with such a character through a lengthy film requires us to invest our time on him. We may not root for him but if we detest him then the film would be a hard watch.This guy has to get what he wants. He hardly thinks what matters to others. I really wanted to know how this story would have progressed if the girl did not reciprocate his love.It is a fact that the film never actually shows him in good light most of the time. But he has an attitude that he effortlessly carries which has us glued to him.  The heartbreak too happens because of the guy himself. He brings it on himself with his impulsive behavior. But he always firmly believes that he is right. He believes that he is not a rebel without a cause. He is proud that he is a doctor. He never lies. There is an excellent scene in the second half when his conscience would not allow him to lie to save his profession. One of the fascinating aspects of Arjun's characterization is that he hardly changes over the course of the film.  His anger does mellow down a bit (atleast apparently) towards the end but otherwise he remains the same from start to end. He almost always never apologizes because for him he speaks his mind. If he feels jealous of his friend's love story turning a success he lets him know about it openly. He remains to be purposefully unaware of the hurt caused to others by his insensitiveness. His support system remains his biggest strength. They never rebuke him but are fine with absorbing this raw side of him. In-fact the film never tries to garner sympathy for him by projecting a troubled childhood. He has the best of everything. Perhaps that is why he is never willing to take 'No' for an answer.  This is an excellent performance from Vijay Deverakonda and it would be interesting to see what he does from here on.

The climax is what left me feeling a little dicey.The positive note with which the film ended did not look forced (though it took the easy way out ignoring a whole set of complex situations that could have arose) but the director's voice-over at the end offering condolences to those separated in love left a bitter taste in my mouth. All through the film I never felt that the film glorified its protagonist. But if this voice-over intended to reduce generically everyone who are separated in love as losers, then it needs some introspection from the makers. Throughout the film there are enough scenes to implicate that there is no single way to live our lives. Even when Arjun says that love can never be found in an arranged marriage his friend is quick to retort that such things vary with individuals. This is why I found the last voice-over a little troubling. It sort of undoes a few good things that you have created all this while. So far it had been the characters who were behaving or speaking but here it is the voice of the maker himself.

There is very little conversation that the two leads have verbally. It is almost always physical. For the hero, sex is very much a part of love. But not the other way around. So when he loses his love, he starts looking for loveless sex. Though the film on the surface looks like it is bold/progressive and projects sex as a basic physical need, it still needs a dialogue from the heroine at the end to keep her 'pure'. The film might not endorse any particular view but the very need to have this very specific dialogue does raise a few questions.

Arjun Reddy is another example on what craft and assured film-making can bring to the plate. This isn't a complaint but is it a fact that good guys are boring? What makes a good guy is again debatable. So let us say can we have any of the new age filmmakers make a love story about a rather timid guy? Or maybe someone who isn't street smart and plays by the book. Or better still someone who would not resort to alcohol to overcome a romantic breakup. Maybe sounds boring but hopefully someone can do this. (Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya in Tamil is one film that probably comes to mind) .Why is it that all these excellent new age love stories reserved for the macho of the male species? Is someone please listening?