Arjuna Phalguna review: This action thriller entertains only in parts

2/5

Story:

Arjun and a group of four friends remain inseparable buddies in a chirpy village in Andhra Pradesh. They're yet to find purpose in life - all their attempts to earn a livelihood go in vain. Their woes deepen when one of the friends is stuck in a financial crisis, with his parents having no hope in sight to clear a bank loan. The friends even try to start their own business, though their plans don't materialise. They resort to carrying drugs across the border to make money. All hell breaks loose when the cops nearly catch hold of them.

Review:

Director Teja Marni, who made his debut with a hard-hitting political drama Johaar, treads the mainstream cinema route for his second outing, Arjuna Phalguna, a wacky action thriller with a novel plot. One can't deny the writer-director's understanding of issues specific to hamlets in the Telugu states and the hopelessness that its people experience to earn their livelihood. The film is about a group of friends, whose desperation to make quick money lands them in a soup and they need to take an unusual route to get out of a tricky situation.

The primary issue with Arjuna Phalguna is its leisurely start; it takes too long to arrive at its core plot. The happy-go-lucky lives of its lead characters are romanticised too much initially. Some of the scenes are harmless fun but you wonder where the plot's heading. The proceedings take a melodramatic turn to discuss farmers' woes and the evil plots of money lenders. The fact is that Telugu filmmakers get excessively sentimental when they talk agriculture and get too preachy. No doubt, farmers are the backbone of society but you're not here to make a documentary.

Arjuna Phalguna alternates between heavyweight drama and humour and picks up momentum when the friends agree to transport drugs to Odisha. Teja Marni writes even the most intense of sequences with an unusual comic flavour. The group gets into several awkward situations one after the other trying to escape the sight of the cops. The action scene where Sree Vishnu hops onto a horse and catches a train appears silly though.

The fact that Arjun is a Jr. NTR fan is used smartly in the plot - the characters while writing their names in a lodge register, call themselves Aadhi, Simhadri, Rakhi and even Yama Donga. Just when the friends are hopeful about their future, they face another roadblock. You expect the film to get more serious and dramatic soon, but the resolution involving Naresh and Subbaraju feels overly simplistic. The film is too dramatic to be a comic caper, too silly to be a thriller.

Unlike his earlier films, where he has largely underplayed himself and remained submissive, Sree Vishnu is more outgoing, massy and dominating here and looks convincing in his part. Amritha Aiyer hangs around the men throughout the film and doesn't have much say in the proceedings. Rangasthalam Mahesh gets a meaty role that drives the story while the makers could've utilised the screen presence of Raj Kumar Kasireddy and Chaitanya Garikipati slightly better.

It's a relief to see Naresh cast as a crooked money lender and not as a melodramatic/funny father. Subbaraju looks apt to play the corrupt cop who's after the group. Sivaji Raja, Devi Prasad and Bhadram are passable in brief roles. The background score is impressive, the Godari Valle Sandhamama number is instantly appealing. There's no doubt about Teja Marni's worth as a writer though it's the execution where he needs to focus on. Arjuna Phalguna isn't certainly as raw as Johaar but there could have more effort to add lustre to the film on the technical front.

Verdict:

Arjuna Phalguna is a middling fare; the novel plot doesn't translate into a consistently engaging film. The film is snail-paced to start with but packs a punch in the latter half. Sree Vishnu's transformation in a massy avatar impresses while Subbaraju, Naresh and Rangasthalam Mahesh come up with commendable performances. If the film came with a report card, one would've wished to say - 'can do better'.