Bharath and Premgi’s film together Simba, marketed as the first ever out and out stoner film, had a lot of eyebrows being raised as this is not a genre that we see regularly in conventional cinema. However, the film is a comedy drama that has the stoning elements as its backdrop. How trippy and engaging is this ride? Read further to find out.

Director Arvind Sridhar’s Simba is definitely not an easy film to make. Especially because of the genre that the team has picked and the very limited cast that they have used. The film revolves around the life of Bharath (a lonely stoner) and Premgi (who happens to be a dog) and has barely 2 or 3 other characters throughout. Making a film with just 4 actors is no joke and the director has taken a very bold step here.

As for the storyline. Simba is a usual comedy romance based drama film that starts off in an extremely trippy manner. Right from the shot selection to the lighting, the cinematographer Sinu Siddharth has to be lauded for his work. Bharath and Premgi have done good jobs with their acting and Bhanu Sri Mehra serves as the usual heroine that we see in Tamil films. Majority of the scenes have us watching the relationship between the characters played by Bharath and Premgi and how this relationship blooms with the course of the flick.

With the manner in which the film begins, audiences are sure to get interested with the first half an hour that runs into the introduction of Simba the dog and its characterisation. However, the film falls a little flat post this juncture and the lack of solid content to support this whacky idea is quite evident. A couple of numbers though pleasing to the ears, seem force fitted in the first half. The challenge of making a film like this can be fulfilled and appreciated by a wider set of film fans if the storyline took an even more interesting route.

The biggest backbone of Simba is its music. Vishal Chandrasekhar proves his mettle with the background score and the numbers Marandhadhae and Pinjula Pinjula are a treat. Edit by Achu Vijayan is also pretty decent though the second half seemed a little draggy. With a number of elements in hand, Simba actually does look very different and strong on paper.

With a limited cast, a very unique idea in hand, a fantastic technical team and so on, Arvind Sridhar could have explored the idea of stoning a lot more which could have made it a cult-ish film. A few mention worthy scenes include the conversation between dogs that portray voices of famous actors, a very touching emotional scene between the man and dog in the latter half and the beautiful bonding that they share with their favourite humans. Art work too is quite commendable in a few of the interior portion scenes.

Simba does have a few worthwhile moments and the humour works here and there. As the entire film is predominantly based on comedy, Premgi does good justice with his reactions, one-liners and dog like mannerisms that would be appreciated by many of those who like these sort of different films. Also, the stoner moments of Simba, though seldom, would serve as a fresh idea to a few. If for a more convincing storyline in the second half and an exploration on the idea of stoning, Simba would’ve come across as a very uniquely made engaging film. Nevertheless, it does engage you in parts and is a passable yet very different and brave attempt.

Bottomline: Simba is a fairly-entertaining whacky film!

Rating: 2.5/5