Movie: Romantic
Rating: 2/5
Banner: Puri Connects
Cast: Akash Puri, Ketika Sharma, Ramya Krishna, Uttej, Sunaina, and others
Music: Sunil Kashyap
Editor: Junaid Siddiqui
Director of Photography: Naresh Rana
Producers: Puri Jagannadh, Charmme Kaur
Story, screenplay, dialogues: Puri Jagannadh
Directed by: Anil Paduri
Release Date: October 29, 2021
From Prabhas to Rajamouli, top names have come forward to promote “Romantic”, the latest film starring Akash Puri, director Puri Jagannadh’s son. No wonder that the film has created a lot of buzz in the last two weeks.
With high-pitched publicity and an interesting trailer, “Romantic” has managed to garner attention. The film is here. Let’s analyze.
Story:
Set in Goa, the story begins with the voiceover of a police officer Ramya Gowarikar (Ramya Krishna), who narrates the intense and greatest love she had witnessed in her stint there.
Vasco Da Gama (Akash Puri), whose police officer’s father was killed on duty, has only one aim – to earn big money so that he can run a charity foundation for his grandmother Mary (Rama Prabha). He quickly joins the gang of smugglers.
When his boss gets killed in a shootout, Vasco Da Gama becomes rich, but the police are chasing him. Meanwhile, the young boy is floored by the irresistible local beauty Monica (Ketika Sharma).
Ramya Gowarikar arrests Vasco Da Gama in a case, and he gets a life sentence in that case. What will happen to his love story with Monica?
Artistes’ Performances:
Akash Puri still possesses boyish looks. Though he is sincere in his effort and tries playing the gangster part convincingly, the role is too big for the young boy to carry on his shoulders. He looks convincing in part, where he has to express feelings when he sees the charming beauty of Ketika Sharma. But when he mouths dialogues like mass heroes do, he looks unconvincing.
Ketika Sharma will surely skip the heartbeat of youngsters. Her unabashed display of skin and beautiful face will strike a chord with the target audiences. The romantic (lustful) moments of Akash Puri and Ketika Sharma are aimed at the galleries.
Ramya Krishna, who essays a poorly written character, brings a lot of dignity to otherwise incoherent proceedings. Sunaina’s comedy is okay. Uttej’s role is unconvincing.
Technical Excellence:
The film is entirely shot in Goa, and the cinematographer captures the locations beautifully. More than the locations, the cameraman films the figure of Ketika Sharma captivatingly.
Music is a mixed bag. Dialogues written by Puri Jagannadh stand out.
Highlights:
Ketika Sharma’s skin show
Puri’s mark dialogues
Drawback:
Illogical Plot
No rhyme and reason
Lack of emotional connect
Analysis
“Romantic” is directed by newcomer Anil Paduri, a long-time associate of Puri Jagannadh. But the film has a stamp of Puri Jagannadh’s direction throughout because he has written the story, screenplay, and dialogue. By the end of the film, we may wonder what the story is about.
Is this story about two young lovers who don’t know the difference between love and lust, like and desire? Or is it about a young boy’s ill fate as he attempts to be a godfather?
The protagonist is presented as a typical Puri Jagannadh’s reckless hero, who mouths Hindi dialogues laced with philosophical quotations, who wants to do ‘it’ with his girl ‘tonight’, and one who is either busy 'pattukovadam’ (touching) of guns and girl.
However, the hero has two objectives- one is to earn money and do some good for his locality and the other is to get the love of the girl he wants.
There is an entire song about the boy and girl talking or singing lines from Puri Jagannadh’s musings (his philosophical podcasts). While the song is beautiful to watch, it adds nothing to the main plot. Such is the aimlessness of this film.
“Desanni Preminchadam Easy Paisa Kharchu Undadu…Ammaini Premiste Sarada Teerchestadi,” says the hero in one scene saying he has not loved the girl yet. 15 or 20 minutes later, he says he can’t live without the girl. While one-liners sound good on paper, they don’t go well with the flow of the narrative.
Plus, the climax leaves us in utter disappointment.
So, what works in the film? The picturization of intense romantic moments between Ketika Sharma and Akash Puri. The girl is strikingly beautiful. Akash also is believable in romancing the girl than firing the bullets.
All said, “Romantic” is a true-blue Puri Jagannadh’s film that doesn’t rely on logic or proper story, but the characterization of the hero and heroine romance. It may appeal to a mass audience, but the film is not at all engrossing.
Bottom-line: Girl and Gun