Pakka Commercial, streaming on aha and Netflix, has more misses than hits

It’s no news that director Maruthi is unabashedly commercial in his approach to his movies. While a few of his films ensured many hilarious moments while others ended up flat and listless. Pakka Commercial, which is now streaming on aha and Netflix, falls in the second category. The film is ultimately an old wine in a new bottle, despite the writer-director asserting through his characters that they are not treading the old route.

Satyanarayana Murthy (Satyaraj) is a very sincere judge who resigns from his post after a verdict results in the death of a woman. Cut to the present, his son Lucky(Gopichand) is a greedy lawyer, who only works for money. After knowing that his son is taking up a case to help a criminal politician,(Rao Ramesh) Satyanarayana returns as a lawyer to face his son. Who wins this battle forms the crux of this plot.

Maruthi is known to stay true to trends and uses them as a backdrop to his films. Here, he discusses how people are unabashedly commercial in their ways and do things that ensure their personal benefit. The role, in fact, suits Gopichand quite well. He hasn’t looked more handsome in the recent past and displays a great sense of style.

Gopichand suits the part to the T and comes up with a composed performance in the film. His comedy timing is utilised quite well by Maruthi. Raashi Khanna is one of the major attractions in the first hour and gets a good role. She tickles the funny bones with a hyperactive role and also shares good chemistry with Gopichand. Ajay Ghosh is entertaining in a brief role.

Rao Ramesh’s casting as the main villain evokes good laughs and he shares good on-screen camaraderie with Ajay Ghosh. His body language and dialogue delivery suit the mood of the film. Satyaraj gets a meaty role and does what is expected of him. Viva Harsha, Saptagiri, and Aditi Gautam are decent in their roles.

The major issue with Pakka Commercial is its predictable story. It is absolutely a run-of-the-mill fare. The core plot kickstarts only during the intermission. Though there is a passable comedy, Raashi Khanna’s character is overdone beyond a point and looks silly in the second half. The father-son thread between Satyaraj and Gopichand and their clash of ideologies is not established well.

Pakka Commercial had good scope for drama, but Maruthi narrates the film in a lighter vein which also makes the courtroom scenes look absurd. The climax twist is quite predictable and it’s not hard to guess what’s coming our way. On the whole, this is a courtroom drama filled with passable comedy. The first half is slow but the comedy passes muster.

Things take a turn for the better in the second half but the bland storyline and predictable proceedings abrupt the flow time and again. All those who love loud comedy and don’t care for logic or plot can give this film a shot. Pakka Commercial, produced by GA2 Pictures and UV Creations, had hit theatres on July 1 and fared poorly at the box office.