Husharu - Movie Review

‘Husharu', telling the story of four Engineering graduates, hit the cinemas this Friday. Let's find out its story and what works and what doesn't.  

Story:

The lead male characters in the film are played by Tejus Kancherla, Tej Kurapati, Abhinav Medishetti, and Dinesh Tej. They have been 'jigri dosts' (best friends) of the highest order since school days. They can't live without each other and can even break up with the girlfriend for the sake of their friendship.

Soon after their academics, the friends go about their semi-adventurous lives. But all their plans are ruined when the love lives of two of the friends fall flat due to some self-inflicted wounds.

To make the matters worse, one of the friends faces a gigantic problem. What is it? How are the friends going to take on it head on? Answers to these questions are found in the second half.

Analysis:

Director Sree Harsha Konuganti wanted to make an adult comedy with some standard elements that appeal to the Indian audience. In the process, he ends up with a lengthy show reel of run of the mill elements. And whatever adult comedy is there, the scenes keep making a guest appearance now and then. A soft porn short film here, a double meaning joke there.

The four friends are good for nothing when it comes to academics. They don't have any interest in a regular software job. They ridicule the guys who work for peanuts after passing out of Engineering with high percentages. How are they going to make a living with this mindset? Don't worry. Our filmmakers always have a ready-made solution in such films. The friends have a business idea, a unique talent (like playing an instrument in a mesmerizing manner), etc.

In 'Husharu', the director goes a step further. He invents a fairly rich software engineer (Rahul Ramakrishna enters the screen too late, but he entertains for the time he is there). This character wants to break free from his software job and has a special talent. This special talent is what exactly the four friends need to survive, thrive and become rich. And he is ready to shower his fortunes on those who show him a way.

The four friends are lucky most of the times with some minor exceptions. Even when they have a huge problem to deal with, they have a solution waiting to save them. They laugh at the problem and the problem runs away. Stuff of fantasies but this film was not supposed to be a fantasy, right?

Daksha comes, Priya Vadlamani comes, and one more girl comes.  If a girl breaks a guy's heart, another girl is ready to give him succor.

The bromance looks forced after a point. It lacks soul because the director's attempt to showcase a 'Happy Days', a '3 Idiots' and a 'Life Is Beautiful' lacks punch (the last of these films was a miserable experience, anyways). The actors are too average to entertain like Sekhar Kammula's heroes. The situations are too routine to seem inventive like those we have seen in some new-age films like 'Pelli Choopulu'.

The second half lacks kick, with episodes being stretched as if there is no tomorrow. The characters don't show pain, so does the background music (by Radhan and Sunny MR), which is too generic. Raj Thota's cinematography is inconsistent, much like the performances of the actors. Rahul Ramakrishna scores marks with his terrific comic timing. The scene where his unfair boss pretends to misread his words is a laugh riot.

Bottomline: ‘Husharu' would have been better had the screenplay been tighter and had the jokes are genuinely good. Too much of wishful thinking and easy things bore the audience.