'Banaras' hit the screens today (November 4). In this section, we are going to review the latest box-office release.

Story:

The story is set in Varanasi. Siddharth (Zaid Khan) is an astronaut who claims to have come from the future. He crosses paths with Dhani (Sonal Monteiro), whom he tells is her future husband. But there is a twist in the tale.

A midget named Peter enters the screen and messes up with Siddharth. Meanwhile, a selfie Sid had with Dhani goes viral on the Internet. How are the two threads connected? Why does Sid want to redeem himself in Varanasi? Who is the midget who seems to have an ulterior motive in mind? Answers to these questions are found as the story progresses.

Analysis:

Director Jayathirtha shoots nearly three-fourths of the film in Varanasi, whose holy aura uplifts a few scenes. The film doesn't misuse its backdrop; the songs, in particular, make thorough use of the temple town. Landmarks like Mukthi Bhawan are used meaningfully. 'Mukthi', meaning salvation, is used both literally and allegorically.

The Varanasi ghats, famous for their rootedness, are shown reasonably well. But then, if you have watched films like Chiranjeevi's 'Indra', there is no surprise. A character who clicks dead bodies is deployed to give a philosophical touch to an otherwise hedge-podge nature of the proceedings.

Once the time-loop element kicks in, the film starts losing its way. The tropes around Siddharth's apologia are convenient. Elements like mother sentiment and eve-teasers creeping out the heroine are resorted to. A doting dad, a pointless song on the Internet-era trolling, and such elements don't make any lasting impact.

Zaid Khan shows ease but his Bollywood-ish looks can take time for the viewer to adjust. Sonal Monteiro is confident and looks good in the songs; she is sexy in the post-interval sensuous song. Sujay Shastry, Devaraj, Achyuth Kumar, Sapna Raj and Barkath Ali are part of the cast.

Music director B Ajaneesh Loknath of the recent 'Kantara' fame is okayish with the BGM. The songs, especially the reality show song and 'Maaya Ganga', are impressive. Advaitha Gurumurthy's cinematography is adequate. The action scenes composed by A Vuay and Different Danny are ordinary, though.

KM Prakash's editing is average. The Art Direction by the Arun Sagar-Seenu duo is decent. The dance choreography by the Jayathirtha-A Harsha duo comes to the fore here and there.

A pan-India film should have strong plotting and sensible twists. 'Banaras' lacks both. For the unversed, Zaid Khan is not ambitious and has been on record stating that he doesn't want to do pan-India films furthermore.

Verdict:

'Banaras', despite its visual flavour, lacks a coherent plot. The time-loop element is not used effectively. In fact, many scenes are pointless. The romantic fantasy, the sci-fi sub-genre, and the action moments have been squandered away by this laborious film.