Brochevarevarura - Movie Review

'Brochevarevaru Ra', starring Sri Vishnu and others, is written and directed by Mental Madhilo's Vivek Athreya.  A crime comedy, the film hit the screens today.  Let's find out what works and what doesn't.  

Story:

Rahul (Sri Vishnu), Rakesh (Priyadarshi) and Rambo (Rahul Ramakrishna) are the classmates of Mitra (Nivetha Thomas) in an Intermediate college.  What unites them is the fact that they all score ridiculous marks in exams.

Mitra, a naturally talented Bharatanatyam dancer, has an over-dominating father.  Her mother is no more and she has none to fall back on.  Her father, a principal at her college, doesn't support her dreams.  She finds solace in the R3 batch of hero and his friends.

She wants to escape from her present condition and conspires with the R3 batch.  She asks them to fake her kidnap and demand Rs 8 lakh from her father.  The plan goes haywire when Mitra goes missing with the cash. 

These characters are destined to meet Vishal (Satyadev as an aspiring filmmaker) and Shalini (Nivetha Pethuraj as a star heroine) in Hyderabad.  What is their destiny?  What lessons does life have for them?  That's the climax.

Analysis:

Films like this one don't work because of the story.  They don't take their story too seriously.  They rather work because of the idiosyncratic characters and their world.  The R3 batch in 'Brochevarevaru Ra' is likeable despite their flaws.  And, rightly so, director Vivek Athreya relies on them to save the day. Sri Vishnu, as the one who happily took his father's insults in 'Needhi Nadhi Okate Katha', effortlessly slips into the role of an over-aged Intermediate student.  His friends, Rahul and Priyadarshi, are no less peculiar.  The dialogues between the three characters are natural and even when they are cinematic, we don't complain.

Nivetha Thomas as Mitra breaks into a dance ahead of the interval and this song (music director Vivek Sagar has a knack for dishing out situational, organic songs) raises the tempo.  The director doesn't make her dance for the sake of it.  He lets her dance only where there is a need.  So, even though the film references to Venkatesh's 'Swarna Kamalam', there is no much indulgence of the classical dance.

Both Rahul and Priyadarshi are equally rib-tickling as the hero's all-weather friends.  Without their being pleasing on the screen and getting their comic timing right, the second half would have slipped into major trouble.  

The second half syndrome haunts the movie.  It's not difficult to see why.  The interval bang gets it notoriously wrong; the screenplay gets confusing and staged here.  The film fails to raise above the limitations of the interval bang until the climax.  

A star actress falling in love so easily with her director is unnatural.  The scenes involving the Satyadev-Nivetha Pethuraj duo, despite their realistic performances, are far from warming.  If Harshavardhan (as a cop who thinks too much and too funnily) is comical, Bithiri Sathi is wasted.  

The crux of the story is that unforeseen situations and unlikely people can teach us valuable lessons.  This is delivered in a contrived way.  There is also an over-reliance on the BGM to deliver dramatic effects.

The performances are adequate.  Sri Vishnu and Nivetha Thomas cackle up the screen.

Bottom-line: 'Brochevarevaru Ra' is a screenplay-driven crime comedy. Don't expect a special story. Expect situational comedy and the first half will engage you consistently. The issue is second half going on wrong note for the most part like the director’s previous movie. However, it ends well.