First Day First Show Review

'First Day First Show' hit the screens today. In this section, we are going to review the latest box office release.

Story:

Srinivas (Srikanth Reddy) is the son of a school headmaster (Tanikella Bharani). As a college-goer, he is crazy about Pawan Kalyan. Ahead of the theatrical release of 'Kushi' (yes, the film is set in the year 2001), the pre-release mania grips everyone in his village. His crush Laya (debutante Sanchita Bashu) tempts him into accepting her offer of watching the film FDFS on a single screen. Srinivas literally goes mad trying to fetch two tickets so that he gets to watch the movie of his favourite star with his favourite girl. But can he secure the tickets?

Analysis:

The trailer of the film left none in any doubt that 'FDFS' was going to lack a coherent plot. Half the lines in the film pander to Pawan Kalyan's craze and superstardom. It's fitting that it got released on the actor's birthday; otherwise, it wouldn't have had a single reason to feel happy about its existence.

The film's writer Anudeep KV is the proud director of 'Jathi Ratnalu', arguably one of the best comedies ever. It's smart of him to have not taken 'FDFS' too seriously; had he directed the movie himself, he would have joined the league of those filmmakers who brought out a dud after a mega hit.

The beats of 'FDFS' remind us of 'Jathi Ratnalu' in the wrong ways. The male protagonist is a dullard, much like Naveen Polishetty's character. Then there is Tanikella Bharani's motormouth character. This film confuses pop culture references to the Power Star phenomenon for a script. The '40-60 hairdo' is a case in point. Such isolated ideas don't add much. The PSPK obsession is overdone.

After a point, we start wondering if the characters in the film have lives beyond 'Kushi', Pawan and his films. And composer Radhan behaves as though he has no world beyond 'Jathi Ratnalu'. A song is a rip-off of his 'Chanchalguda Jail Lo' number from his previous hit.  

The heroine's character is utterly dumb. So much so, a feminist would just explode by the end of the first half. She doesn't have anything to speak in the entire first half. Does she want to watch 'Kushi' because she has a crush on Srinivas? If yes, why does the guy want to do the same? Is it because 'Kushi' alone won't suffice and he needs his crush by his side? Never mind.

The one smart observation is about Pawan and Venkatesh's filmography having overlaps. In a dud where every other person in the village is a Pawan fan, the reference to the 'Narappa' actor was a whiff of fresh air.

Vennela Kishore was supposed to look like a Pawan fan, but his body language barely has any credibility. Much like the film itself.

Verdict:

'FDFS' is an Agnyaathavaasi-level disappointment.