'Evaru', starring Adivi Sesh and Regina Cassandra, hit the screens this Thursday. A thriller, it has been directed by Venkat Ramji. Here is our review of the latest Tollywood release.
Story:
When she is accused of killing DSP Ashok (Naveen Chandra), Sameera (Regina Cassandra), the wife of a multi-billionaire, defends herself saying that she had to murder him because he raped her.
Vikram Vasudev (Adivi Sesh), a compromised cop with a brilliant mind, offers to help her out in gaming the system and proving her innocence. He offers to save her from being convicted in return for a bribe. But on one condition: Sameera should tell him everything that happened.
There begins a battle of wits, a cat-and-mouse game kind of thing between Vikram and Sameera. The audience soon learns that there is more to the murder of Ashok than meets the eye.
Who is the murderer and who is innocent? What are Vikram's real motives? Answers to these and other intriguing questions are found in the second half.
Analysis:
By now, many know that 'Evaru' is a largely faithful remake of 'Badla' (Hindi). If 'Badla' changed some elements with respect to the Spanish original 'The Invisible Guest', 'Evaru' does much the same with respect to its spiritual parent.
Debutant director Venkat Ramji comes equipped with a captivating script that is packed with purposive twists and stunning turns. If there is any thriller that demands the audience's rapt attention every single minute, it has to be this.
When she is accused of murder, Sameera gets shaken. When Vikram meets her for the first time, she looks eerily relaxed. As the film progresses, new shades of her come to the fore.
The conversations between the duo are breathtakingly striking (due credit to Abburi Ravi, who always gives his best when Adivi Sesh is at the centre). The commendable thing is that no attempt is made to force nativity into the narrative. Notice the language of the two main characters. Nowhere do they play it to the gallery.
To be sure, you can't afford to miss any line anywhere. Since the characters speak quite fast, it becomes a litmus test at times to follow the story. This in a film that refuses to add a single extraneous shot, much less an unnecessary scene.
The way Sesh's character evolves through the film is not only organic but makes sense in retrospect. For example, the bond he develops with an unlikely character in the first half and the emotions that the bond entails, strike the right notes.
Naveen Chandra's character comes with its own share of layers. He keeps appearing in the flashbacks, which are narrated in installments and which present different versions of an incident. Sometimes, these versions are misleading, at other times they are just half-truths.
As the film progresses, the questions raised and the answers withheld keep the audience guessing. What next is always a question on the audience's mind with no predictable answers.
Murli Sharma in a relatively short role is another plus. Nihal Kodhaty is endearing as a youngster in distress. Pavithra Lokesh and other bit actors do pretty well.
Adivi Sesh delivers a nuanced performance with practised ease. As he shows guilt and pain, he looks more rounded than ever before in his career. His dialogue delivery is all the more restrained and sophisticated these days. Regina slays it with almost everything that she does. She seems to emote with her eyes that refuse to blink at times, with her body language, with her tears, and with her perplexed expressions.
Sricharan Pakala is classy when it comes to the background score. Never does the BGM dominate any scene while being a part of the narrative. Vamsi Patchipulusu's cinematography is nimble.
Verdict:
At 117 minutes, 'Evaru' dishes out a thoroughly engaging thriller. It's edgy and also emotional. It is brainy and also has a climax that is tailor-made for the Indian audience. With its constantly thrilling twists, the film ticks the right boxes.
Comments