Wife Off Review: Divya Sree's ETV Win original is a half-baked thriller

2/5

Wife Off Story

Avani (Divya Sree) is a girl passionate about acting, while Abhi (Abhinav Manikanta) is an aspiring director. The two collaborate on a short film, and their professional connection soon blossoms into love. One fine day, Abhi proposes to Avani but she shocks him by handing him her wedding card. Avani is set to marry her uncle's son, Ram (Nikhil Gajula). Cut to a few days later, Avani turns into prostitution amidst a few chaotic murders. Why does she wander the streets at night? What role does Abhi play in all this? To know the answers, stream the film on ETV Win. 

Wife Off Review

Wife Off is written and directed by Bhanu Yerabandi and is a screenplay-based movie filled with twists and turns. Bhanu succeeds as a director in delivering a few decent twists in his narration. However, the writing is bland, and there are not many moments that shock or keep you on the edge of your seat.

One of the biggest drawbacks of the film is the execution of the scenes that come before and after each twist. These scenes are dull, boring, and not properly executed. The new cast also does not help matters much. The main character, Avani, is not handled well. While there is an underlying emotion in her character, the so-called silly drama diminishes the audience's interest.

Once the main twist is revealed, the storyline becomes quite predictable and fails to entertain. What follows has been seen in countless films before. Wife Off is essentially a revenge story told in a unique way that works for its twists, but the rest of the film falls flat. Director Bhanu had a few twists in mind and cleverly built a story around them. However, while the twists work, the rest of the narrative is lackluster.

Coming to the performances, Avani's character has different shades, and Divya Sree performs the emotional scenes well. However, she lacks the depth needed to fully carry the weight of the character. Her performance requires more maturity, particularly in scenes where she turns to marijuana or stands on the road as a prostitute.

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Abhinav Manikanta performs adequately in his role, but audiences familiar with his work in short films might not find anything new in his performance. Sai Swetha has limited screen time but does her best with the role she is given. The rest of the cast delivers decent performances.

Praneeth has composed the music, and while his songs are good, the background score fails to deliver and does not effectively enhance the suspense. Ashkar Ali's cinematography is visually pleasing. Surya Rahul Tamada and Saideep Reddy Borra did a decent job with the production values, ensuring the story was executed within the necessary budget.

Finally, Wife Off is a decent attempt at creating a unique suspense thriller but ultimately ends up as a half-baked film that works only to an extent.

Wife Off Verdict

On the whole, Wife Off is a film that has decent twists. But to enjoy them one has to sit through some silly scenes and predictable drama. If you have loads of time, give this thriller a shot on ETV Win but there is nothing new that is being showcased here.

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