Popcorn Review: This Sai Ronak-Avika Gor thriller is over the top and lacks basic emotion

2/5

Story

The film is set among two youthful characters Sameerana(Avika Gor) and Pavan(Sai Ronak). A bomb is planted in a Hyderabad mall and chaos is created. Right at that moment, Sameerana and Pavan get stuck in the mall's lift and there is no one to help them. What will they do now? How do they save themselves? That forms the rest of the story.

Review

Not many know but Avika Gor has co-produced Popcorn and plays the main character in Popcorn which has a very routine storyline. A boy and girl getting stuck in a lift, starting to hate each other, then becoming friends, such aspects have been shown in so many films in the past. But in Popcorn, there is a small backstory that is added which is revealed in the last ten minutes of the film. But to enjoy this, one has to sit through the painful two hours which has nothing new to showcase.

Murali Gandham directed the film and he made a huge mess with the storyline. The lead pair is stuck in the lift for close to eighteen hours and they do not panic one bit. They do not react, try to get help, or get tense. The worst part is the hero, who even sings two songs the whole time they are stuck in the lift. One fails to understand what did Avika Gor see in the storyline that she decided to co-produce Popcorn. All the lead pair do is fight, play games, celebrate a birthday, and even sing a few songs. Such is the silliness of this film.

Performances-wise, the lead couple does a very good job. But the narration is so bland that even they look over the top after a while. Sai Ronak is a very handsome actor who is taking decent strides in the industry. He does well in his role as Pawan and manages to impress. Avika Gor looks beautiful as she has lost oodles of weight. She performs well and does an impressive job, especially during the climax scenes, she was very good.

The director has thought of the storyline line well and added the properties quite cleverly. So, when these things like lighter, cakes, candles, wine, and guitars are used, it makes some sense. A scene where the hero makes provision for the heroine to pass urine in the lift is nicely thought of.

But sadly, there is absolutely no seriousness in the proceedings. The lead pair do not panic and avoid finding out why they are stuck for the longest time. Only when one falls sick, does the other start to panic. There is absolutely no budget spent as the entire film happens in a lift. The camera work is decent and the scene used to bring the couple out of the lift has been thought off well.

The climax proposal scene is also good but by then, too much damage is done and the film is out of the director's hands and bores the audience completely. If the director would have added some thrill and panic between the lead pair, things would have made some sense.

Verdict

On the whole, Porpcorn is a silly romantic thriller that falls flat after the first ten minutes. There is absolutely no seriousness in the film and scenes are so over the top that one starts finding the serious situation quite funny. Avika Gor and Sai Ronak try too hard to save the film but the narration is so bland and silly that you are forced to start looking toward the exit door.