DUDE Review - Quite a Dud post midway!
Ashwin Ram
Premise: Pradeep Ranganathan and Mamitha Baiju, they both are relatives and grow up like thick friends from childhood. Mamitha expresses her long time feelings for PR after his girlfriend breaks up with him. The drama between them forms the remaining story.
Writing/ Direction: The film opens on an exaggerated note, however the opening scene taking place at a wedding hall is enjoyable, the events following that are random. The writing does not carry a proper structure, for us to understand and root for the lead pair. Barring the sense in their relationship, the standalone characters of both Pradeep Ranganathan and Mamitha Baiju are weakly constructed, and it becomes a major issue in the later stages of the story when the conflicts peak. Despite flaws, the first half is quite entertaining with enough theatre moments to keep us engaged. Especially the lengthy 20-minutes block that acts as the setting for the midpoint is a lot of fun, there is an interval banger too. Amidst the shortcomings in the character portrayal, Sarathkumar shines bright till a point. Though the conflict is familiar and he comes as a template father who is against inter caste marriages, the factor was treated refreshingly before the break. Many situations in the second half feel distant, though the emotional angle partially works, the overall relatability is questionable from the start. The scripting is so lacklustre post intermission, sequences are penned in a bizarre manner with no coherence in the flow. The drama around accidental pregnancy, online bride search… These portions miserably fail by gaining zero entertainment nor emotional value, seems like Poove Unakkaga on steroids. After detachment enlarges in the progression, that even a credible sentimental moment could not be consumed in the rightful way. The message it preaches for example, the context is noble but the placement is a huge misfire, appearing after a series of cringe elements. There is an unwanted full-fledged fight, probably kept due to the political backdrop. There is no originality in the dialogues, there are plenty of reference and callback types. PR’s heroic style is initially admirable, but becomes repetitive and he overdoes them in the middle of serious situations too. Placing old songs did not add any commercial value to the film, instead it has become a tiring idea of late.
Performances: Pradeep Ranganathan’s madness is the biggest strength of the film, he has tried to uplift even some dull points of the flow with his innocent expressions. Mamitha Baiju emotes beautifully, with better support from the writer, her contributions could have gotten more power. Sarathkumar’s role is entertaining till halfway, despite the generic filmic flavour to it, he too disappoints in the second half as the character essence keeps diluting, also him surrendering for the crime he committed decades ago feels like a namesake forceful ending. Neha Shetty and Hridhu Haroon roles had scope but completely wasted, they are present just as caricatures with zero development.
Technicalities: Sai Abhyankar delivers a delightful album with chartbuster tracks, especially ‘Oorum Blood’ being the latest earworm. But the song has been excessively milked in the movie with repeatedly using it for background score, there is not much creativity with respect to BGM. Niketh Bommi’s camera work is first class, simple yet solid angles depending on the situations, also flawless composition in the way the tough opening sequence has been filmed. No big complaints with editing, the issue is with the filmmaker’s work, probably yeah the editor could have trimmed down some clichés and the overstylized appeal.
Verdict: Despite a loud start that takes time to settle, the first half is fun overall, but things fall apart after that. Poor writing in penning the complicated situations of the second half is the major issue. The message is relatable, but deliberately preachy.
DUDE - Quite a Dud post midway!
Rating - 2.5/ 5.