'Maestro' is playing on Hotstar. The OTT release has been made on a grand scale. Here is our review of the movie.

Story:

Arun (Nithiin), a pianist whom everyone believes is blind, is witness to the murder of a veteran film star named Mohan (Senior Naresh). The suspects are Mohan's young girlfriend Simran (Tamannaah Bhatia) and her paramour Bobby (Jisshu Sengupta). Arun has to run for his life when the Simran-Bobby duo suspect that he was witness to the murder because he is not blind after all. Bobby is a bloody-minded cop who would stop at nothing to save his marriage with Lucky (Sreemukhi).

Analysis:

When 'Andhadhun' (Hindi) was sought to be remade in Telugu, many were sceptical that its essence would be retained. Not only has director Merlapaka Gandhi digested the original but also has done a brilliant job at casting. The best part of the casting has to be Nithiin and Tamannaah Bhatia, while Jisshu Sengupta is another highlight. The last of the three is a Bengali actor who comes across as a consummate Telugu actor and is believable in every single sense of the term. His dubbing is another plus.

In a sense, 'Maestro' betters the original, especially in helping the audience understand the nuances of the story. The climax is treated in a terrific fashion, complete with Arun and his heartbroken girlfriend Sophie (Nabha Natesh) exchanging an intriguing conversation. As performances go, Nabha completes the subtle performances of the top three actors of the film.

The segments involving Harsha Varshan and Nithiin are high on excitement. The former is into harvesting organs for making money, assisted ably by the unethical Mangli and the ambivalent Raccha Ravi. Their track takes off as a mere sub-plot and slowly becomes a consequential, game-changing segment as the story progresses.

Through and through, Arun's challenges, dilemmas and frustrations let the audience soak into the drama. His fate undergoes a series of changes in the course of a few days, and Mahati Swara Sagar's subliminal background score understands his world. J Yuvaraj's cinematography is alright.

The production design is in step with the Goa backdrop of the movie. The backdrop is a masterstroke, especially because of the genre. Black comedies are rare to come by in our movies and one might hope that 'Maestro' has started the trend in Tollywood. With well-executed black comedies, the sky is the limit.

The film commits the risk of going beyond 'Andhadhun' to make it tick. The abstractness of the original is jettisoned in a clever fashion.

The revelation about Arun's fakery, the love-making, the unexpected twists, the dashing drama, the unsettling emotional churn - everything is narrated with sheer brilliance. Of course, a lot of the credit must go to the writing in the original, but Merlapaka Gandhi is not content with the source material. He improvizes a lot. Tamannaah Bhatia's characterization is thought-provoking, especially if you are a writer who is into thinking up new ideas.

Verdict:

'Maestro' is an enjoyable dark comedy thriller. Watch it for the drama and the twists, not just the humour.