Taxiwala Review

Suhansid Srikanth

Rahul Sankrityan's Taxiwala is surprisingly tacky and brilliant every fifteen minutes. You expect a thriller.. a horror element comes in! You expect a ghosty revenge.. a sci-fi experiment episode kicks in.. And trust me, the final act of Taxiwala.. even with all its mainstream constraints, stands out! The connect at the end is not just in screenplay level to bookmark the beginning and the end.. but spiritually as well!

The film takes a while to really gear up to the conflict. Until then, it establishes the relationship that this guy shares with his vehicle. How he lands up on this job of Taxiwala is quite a story. After roaming around the city at late nights to deliver food.. Welcoming loads and loads of people at security check.. the car really makes him feel like a King of the city. It brings him all the lucky charm he needs. It ends him up with his love interest. It betters his relationship with his brother and sister-in-law. It makes him feel better about himself.

Vijay Devarakonda as Shiva fits the role perfect. He doesn't overdo the heroism.. overplay with emotions.. or oversells the frustration. He has such a good control over how to exhibit himself in a character! The supporting characters are hilar as well. The character named Hollywood had me in splits when he enquired a exorcist, 'Is it Ujala or what?'

I wish the concept of Astral Projection that the film deals with had a better reason to be used rather than a girl in a dysfunctional family listening to music in high volume failed to open door for her choking Asthmatic mother.. the professor who agrees to carry out such a drastic experiment in blink of an eye.. But the quirky parts makes up for it.

What really blew my mind in the film is Sujith Sarang's cinematography. Without being standoffish, the film captures the mood of fun and horror in such an ease. Sreejith Sarang's edit really compensates the lacking rhythm and pace whenever the story lags. Jakes Bejoy's songs are mostly used as OSTs. The melodramas are squeezed into montages in the songs. The entire portion involving Malavika Nair is a big chunk of cliche. Yet it all pass off as one thing or other balances the flaws on screen.

Bottomline

Taxiwala, an adventurous thriller by Rahul Sankrityan, starring Vijay Devarakonda is another interesting addition in the actor's portfolio. What could have been a much sleeker.. funnier.. much scarier film ends up being a one-time watch due to the dejected subplots and backstories.