For a film coming with a loaded title like 'Antham', everything about the proceedings is glib and lacking of seriousness. Half-way through the film, it's easy to discover what the villain (played by Vasudev) is coercing Kalyan Krishna (Charan) into doing and your troubles only aggravate from then.
Kalyan Krishna and Chinni (Rashmi Gautham) are a Hyderabad-based couple. The husband leaves Chinni at home for Vijayawada and while returning to Hyderabad, he receives messages from a stranger, who knows the passwords of his mail id and all. He puts up a brave front, but when the stranger sends him the pic of his wife at home, Kalyan knows that he is doubtlessly trapped and frantically calls up the other person. The stranger asks him to do his bidding, failing which his wife won't return alive. Before he knows, Rs. 20 lakhs are transferred to Kalyan's account. He is ordered to meet and give/take things to/from different individuals on his way to Hyderabad.
At interval bang, Kalyan has a clue as to what he has been threatened to do. The rest of the film is about how the stranger goes on the verge of accomplishing his mission, only to be defeated by a character in the climax.
When a character is in a life-threatening situation, you expect the actor to at least behave authentically. Far from it, he looks jaded rather than piqued at the antics of a comedian (Sudharshan) travelling with him. Even when he is running out of time, even when he has to race against time to secure the life of his innocent wife, this guy has the time to put up with a joker. When he tells the joker to be silent, he looks jaded rather than angry.
At one point, one wonders whether Kalyan is really tensed about reaching the spot, especially when the blackmailer is particular about even seconds. It's pedestrian execution at its worst when we don't even see his vehicle overspeeding. Kalyan looks so unhurried.
Why is it that our directors think commercial element is all about having a funny character speak in some less-explored 'yasa', besides making him appear brainless enough to yearn for idly when the situation is deadly? Of course, comedians ought to behave like idiots most of the times, but the challenge lies in making that idiocy look convincing. That's why a comedian has to look compulsively frivolous enough like a Sapthagiri in a film like this.
The narration is pedestrian. There is no enrichment of the proceedings by way of a song, for example. A song comes in the climax, but by then, the film has outlived its welcome.
A character throws up a surprise in the climax, but in retrospect, the narration looks even more unintelligent after this. How come that character was a footnote in the film all throughout?
Also, what about the morality of Kalyan who is ready to be a cause of a widespread destruction for selfish reasons?
On the technical front, the film is sub-par. The cinematography is unsophisticated. Karthik Rodriguez's music is nothing home to write about. As for the actors, Rashmi's fans would be disappointed to see that 'Antham' is not about her for the most part. Her oomph factor is missing. As for Charan, he may be a good talent wasted in this film. Vasudev fits the bill. Sudharshan bores after a while.
Verdict: The director thought of making a gripping thriller. He ended up making a glib one that fizzles out sooner than later.
Comments