Abhimanyudu - Movie Review

'Abhimanyudu', starring Vishal as a military man, hit the screens this Friday.  Here is our review of the June 1st release.

Story:

Karuna (Vishal) is an army man who ironically despises living in India.  He has anger management issues and his army superiors rule that he should get a certificate from Dr. Latha Devi (Samantha), a psychologist, before he can continue in the Army.  And this doctor counsels him to come to terms with his painful past.  Karuna goes to his native village to spend time with his father (Delhi Ganesan) and unmarried sister for a month.

When Rs. 10 lakhs are needed to get his sister married to her lover, Karuna and his father go out of their way to secure a loan.  They commit a forgery at the behest of a loan agent.  But Karuna's life goes topsy-turvy when the sanctioned loan amount disappears from his bank account.  

Enter the suave and mind-blowing fraudster White Devil (Arjun, who makes an entry at the interval bang).  This villain believes information can be used as a weapon to rob the commoner.  This unseen monster can control Indians' data with an iron grip very soon.  It's now up to Karuna to crack his whereabouts and destroy his network methodically.  That's the second half.

Analysis:

The biggest strength of 'Abhimanyudu' lies in making every smartphone user feel that he is being gamed, he is being watched, he is being fooled, he is being rendered vulnerable.  Many films have shown how unethical hackers loot the common man's money.  Many films have shown flourishes of cyber war.  But this film takes the cyber mafia very, very seriously.  

Debutant director PS Mithran is never done with the modus operandi of cyber mafias.  Even Xerox centres are breeding grounds of an information war!  At times the proceedings are too chilling to watch.  

The crux lies in showing how Karuna, who has no resources to combat the well-equipped and billionaire White Devil, finds clues that can help him contact the villain of his life.  He does it systematically.  He goes to Koti, nabs agents, touts, etc like an intelligence officer.  In all this, mental prowess is far more important than muscle power.  

The rom-com track comes with its demerits as well as merits.  Samantha's character analyzes Karuna's psychology like a true professional.  The pain of the loanees is a motif throughout the film.  

The first face-off between Vishal and Arjun in the lift is interesting. The build-up to this whistle-worthy moment pays off.  

If the homework is thorough and the shock value itself is enough to keep us glued during many scenes, the film is unconvincing in many places.  In the run-up to the climax, Karuna discovers what the Telecom Minister and White Devil are up to.  Bingo!  The heroine comes and completes the task like a thousand Rani Laxmibais.  

After a point, Karuna seems to be doing things with practiced ease.  And it's not good for a film that we wouldn't expect to throw logic to the winds.  

The family scenes suffer from lack of nativity although the scenes between Vishal and Delhi Ganesan are sensible.  

The hero's characterization is a bit out of place.  The film could have avoided the entire 'I-want-to-leave-India-permanently' track.  It doesn't help.  Robo Shankar as Vishal's sidekick doesn't help matters.

As for the performances, both Vishal and Arjun bring the kind of seriousness expected of them, although the former's expression should have been more intense in the second half.  Samantha is convincing.  Others are OK.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's background music is a bit over-rated.  The songs are forgettable.  George C Williams' cinematography is nimble.  

Bottomline:

'Abhimanyudu' is entertaining when it stays true to the dangers it wants us to be awake to.  Many scenes are a revelation.  While the proceedings are believable to a good extent in the first half, the second half throws up avoidable liberties.