Stand Up Rahul movie review: Hold back and skip this unfunny film if you seek some sanity

Raj Tarun and Varsha Bollamma's romantic comedy has a bland plot and an equally unimaginative narrative

Varsha and Raj Tarun in the film

Stand Up Rahul

Story:

Rahul is raised by a single parent, his mother Indumathi. That he grew up in a dysfunctional family significantly impacts Rahul's outlook towards relationships. He fails to take a proper stance on most issues in his life - be it his love life, career or passion. When he lands an opportunity to work at a graphic designing firm in Hyderabad, his main challenge is to hold onto his job. However, his heart is in standup comedy and he's not courageous enough to leave everything aside to pursue his passion. Rahul falls in love with his childhood friend-turned-colleague Shreya soon, who pushes him to be a better version of himself. However, what's on Rahul's mind?

Review:

Stand Up Rahul is a bunch of stray ideas masquerading to be a film sans a proper emotional thread that can hold it together. There's a clear line of difference between being funny and trying hard to be funny (no prizes for guessing which category the film belongs to). The audiences are the guinea pigs here, having to tolerate the protagonist's tryst with standup comedy (we wish we could tell him he's good not at it). The film is essentially about a 20s something Rahul, rising above his apprehensions across various chapters of his life - his dysfunctional upbringing, romance, career and passion. Commitment phobia is his major issue. 

The main problem with Stand Up Rahul is its wafer-thin story (honestly, only worthy of being a sub-plot or a story for a short film at best) bloated to fit into the 150-minute feature film format. Every trait of the protagonist is traced back to his dysfunctional childhood and it feels like the writer-director Santo is making a mountain of a molehill. The filmmaker is not serious about addressing the issue with conviction and the focus suddenly shifts to Rahul's romantic chapter with Shreya, that's also built on a fragile foundation. Even before you believe that Rahul and Shreya are in love, the film starts to become a commentary on live-in relationships.

Rahul is introduced as a standup enthusiast but the film ironically fails to lend any authenticity to the standup comedy backdrop. A bunch of juvenile (sometimes sexist) jokes are passed off as humour (we deserve a caution message whenever a standup comedy scene arrives in the film). At best, the film suggests that standup is more of a venting outlet and doesn't give the profession its due. Whenever Rahul is in the middle of a conflict, instead of confronting his fears or talking about it to near and dear, he translates his frustration into a standup set. 

There's absolutely no reason for us to root for the protagonist or his ambitions or his love life. The film loses out on emotional depth in desperation of a light-hearted exterior. Stand Up Rahul wants to be feel-good, funny and wants us to feel for the characters - it succeeds at nothing. It looks at divorce as a taboo time and again and suggests why it's important for parents to be together for someone to have a good childhood. Adults, even after decades, are bitter about their separation and fight like teenagers in front of their son. If only a film was made about the parents, it could've been titled 'Grow up guys'.

Comedy is the weakest link of Stand Up Rahul - what's funny off-screen, or on paper may not necessarily have a similar impact on the screen and the lack of experience is very evident. Stand Up Rahul thinks it's being cocky and intelligent with its one-liners though it adds insult to the injury. The film falls apart completely in the second hour and the director has no control over the proceedings. The final nail in the coffin is the climax. 

In an attempt to say that Indumathi is a driving enthusiast, the film even tells that she drove herself to a hospital even before delivering a baby. Was this even necessary? With Shreya's character, it's irritating that every female lead's problem in a Telugu film is about saying no to the match suggested by her parents. Stand Up Rahul never gives itself any chance to revive at any point. The efficiency of any film boils down to its writing after all. Need we say more? 

Raj Tarun is known for his comic timing even in his not-so-good films but even he appears clueless in this listless fare. Varsha Bollamma gets a character with no identity beyond being Rahul's go-to girl. Vennela Kishore's comedy track doesn't work while veterans Indraja, Murali Sharma, Madhurima Narla can't rise above this superficial script. If at all someone who can hold their heads high, they are the cinematographer Sreeraj Raveendran and composer Sweekar Agasthi, who manage to infuse colour, enthusiasm and flavour in a script as bland as Stand Up Rahul.

Verdict:

What Stand Up Rahul needed the most was a script doctor, at least for some damage control. It's an aimless film sans any conviction in the storytelling - a romantic comedy where neither the romance nor the comedy works. 

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Cast and Crew

Varsha Bollamma

Raj Tarun

Indraja

Vennela Kishore