ABCD - Movie Review

'ABCD', starring Allu Sirish in the lead, hit the screens this Friday. Let's find out what works and what doesn't for the movie.

Story:

Aravind (Allu Sirish) is a spoilt brat. He is the pampered son of a millionaire NRI, played by Nagababu. When his indiscipline and luxurious lifestyle becomes too much, his father cleverly sends him to India so that he gets to live a life of meagre resources in a slum.  

Once in India, Aravind and his best friend Basha (Bharath) get to experience lower middle-class lifestyle.  They struggle to make ends meet.

In parallel, a separate track is narrated. Young politician Bhargav (Raja) wants to become a Minister but he faces opposition from the residents of the slum where Aravind stays. They are victims of his chemical factory. Rest of the drama is how these stories converge.

Analysis:

'ABCD' is a remake of 'ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi' (2013), a Malayalam film starring Dulquer Salman. Debutant director Sanjeev Reddy has wielded the megaphone.

The film definitely has good plot, a story worth to be told. But it has needed a better handling. Most of the run-time goes into establishing how much of pain Aravind (Allu Sirish) and his friend have to go through because of the slum life. This gets repetitive after a point.  You need an actor with terrific comic timing to pull off such scenes. However, Sirish is not that convincing in this regard.

The rom-com scenes involving Sirish and Rukshar Dhillon ('Krishnarjuna Yuddham' fame) are lifeless. The hero is mesmerized whenever he sees a young, beautiful girl. The director should have made him emote differently when he meets and talks with the heroine. But it doesn't happen like that. Even the song 'Mella Mellaga' (rendered by the much-happening Sid Sriram) is done without any emotional touch.

The chemistry between Sirish and Bharat is just about OK and the latter's comic timing passes muster. With better dialogues, Bharath could have evoked laughter. Vennela Kishore as the host of a TV show named 'Koffee With Kishore' is hilarious. But he gets only two scenes. If this role was extended, it would have been different story. He has brought house down with his two scenes.

The way the political track is treated, it's easy to predict everything. Raja (Sirivennela's son) is convincing as a money-minded and ambitious politician. But he doesn't get well-crafted scenes.

Judah Sandhy's music is average and the RR is not so good. The cinematography is found wanting.

Bottom-line: 'ABCD' has very good plotline but has lacklustre narration. "Mella Mellaga" song and Vennela Kishore are the saving grace of this dull film.