Bachelor Review - A modern day mixed experiment on toxic-romance! 

Akash P

GV Prakash’s much awaited next film directed by Sathish Selvakumar titled Bachelor, has hit the screens. Also starring debut heroine Divya Bharti, this is a film that deals with a group of Bachelor friends and how they handle the issues that come with a toxic relationship between two work colleagues. Has the movie lived up to the expectations of fans?

Touted to be an adult film that talks about a very sensitive issue in modern relationships, we have quite a few things to deal with in the form of Bachelor. Darling (GV Prakash) is a carefree young lad who lives with a bunch of his friends in a bachelor’s hostel. Their livelihood is quite naturally portrayed and Darling is happy with his bunch. However, he happens to meet the beautiful Subbu (Divya) in a party at a friend’s place and instantly gets attracted to her. How he takes this forward and how that affects their lives forms for the rest of the story.

Even though Bachelor, majorly has this relationship between Darling and Subbu as its premise, the latter half takes a whole new route for its audiences. A court-room drama with a cat and mouse battle between the protagonist and the lawyer gets the front seat for the second innings. Unlikely for a film that has built so much potential for an out and out toxic-romance drama but yes, that is what the makers have opted for.

As for the casting equation, GV Prakash has become this seasoned actor who scores high with his emotions and dialogue delivery. He aces the flawed character of Darling. We tend to loathe the character at many instances and that is proof that it has been played well. Subbu by Divya is so fresh and easy, the biggest takeaway from this movie. Signs of a bright future on the cards for the talented actress.Apart from them, Bhagavathi Perumal and Munishkanth ace their parts and the other roles are also neatly carried through.

Director Sathish Selvakumar has to be appreciated for having the courage to make a film the way he wants and likes. The Malayalam film touches pour in with respect to natural camera movement, sound design, light and even some performances. The first half is quite engrossing and has some intense sequences between the lead actors and the romance and lust quite naturally brews between the two. Even the songs are good and the truth or dare game could be entertaining for those who love curiosity and humour that deals with adult topics. 

However.the problem arises only when the detour is opted for. As much as one would be interested and invested in knowing what happened between Darling and Subbu and who would break the ice, one would also seem cluelessly wondering why Bachelor took a courtroom second half. This is then followed by director Myskkin’s extended cameo that makes the film’s focus shatter across numerous issues and too many topics to deal with.

For instance, the entire portion on impotency might seem uninteresting and deviating from what was potentially making for a great film. Even the portion that covers the face-off between the lawyer and GV Prakash’s character in the lawyers office seems pointless and has very little sense. The most important problem though is the lack of proper reasoning as to why Darling behaves the way he behaves. If it was for his family’s shame that he behaved in that manner, then audiences would question the makers at the very beginning of the second half, as to whether going to jail was any less ‘shameful’ for a young man and his family’s pride.

Technically though, Bachelor is up there with the best films of this year. Cinematography by Theni Eshwar is so fresh and the hand held shots are commendable. San Lokesh the editor complements it well with his excellent edit and the background score by Siddhu Kumar is also outstanding. These factors make Bachelor a film notches higher than it should have been and the tech team is a big A team. 

Overall, GV Prakash’s Bachelor directed by Sathish Selvakumar is a mixed bag that offers extremely good as well as dull and draggy moments. As much as we would be engaged in the first half, the chances for the same in the second are slim to none. The ending though, was predictable yet genuine. If the film had dealt with this toxic relationship in depth even in its latter half, we may have had one of the best intense-romance films in recent times. 

Bottomline

GV Prakash’s Bachelor shines bright but dulls down leaving us craving for a better finish!

Rating: 2.75/5