Touted as a coming-of-age mystery film, Malupu keeps the audience engrossed with its gripping screenplay. There is violence, there is a tale of friendship interwoven into the story, there is a dreaded Sarkar-like don whose anguish is writ larger, this is a happy-go-lucky youngster whose loyalty to his friends is a leitmotif. There is everything when seen in bits and pieces, but after the film is over, there is this feeling that the whole is not greater the parts.
Aadhi is a youngster and his parents, three friends Shyam, Shree Karthik and Siddharth are his world. He bumps into Nikki Galrani and falls in love with him, but in a funny turn of events, Nikki's naughtiness puts him off. Intimidated by her, he bears with her. The narration is non-linear. Such rom-com episodes are punctuated with the present when Aadhi is constantly on the run in the busy streets of Mumbai.
What happened on the intervening night of the New Year's Eve is revealed before intermission. The rest of the film is about who is Richa Pallod, what happened to her, how Aadhi and his three friends land in a deep trouble, and how Aadhi tries to extricate himself, his family and friends from the challenge posed by Mudaliar, the dreaded underworld don played by Mithun Chakraborty.
Touted to be based on a true story, the suspenseful film keeps the interest intact. The screenplay that tells Aadhi's investigation in life-threatening circumstances is convincing. All this while the film is a technical feast: be it Shanmugasundaram's cinematography, Prasan Praveen Shyam's background music or V J Sabu Joseph's slick editing.
Aadhi does a decent job in the role of a youth struggling to prove his innocence. He is convincing as a youngster who is ever-ready to risk it all for his friends. Nikki Galrani is better in this film than her other release of the week, Krishnashtami. However, her Charmme-like acting doesn't make a mark. Mithun Chakraborty's acting is measured; there is no much takeaway, though. Pasupathy Pandian is good. Richa Pallod has not many scenes, but she is a surprise package, pulling off her role in a fantastic way. She may be an actress to watch out for. Harish Uttaman is routine.
As flaws go, the rom-com in the first half is a bit over-the-top, especially those scenes involving Pragathi. The songs fall flat. The dialogues are just about ok.
The second half is full of intensity, with no break given for anything else. This is actually how it should be, but given the Telugu audience's taste for 'extras', this may act as a bit of a dampener. Tamil films obsess over friendship and this film has this obsession on full display. Although emotions are universal, nativity is important, too. The Telugu audience's would like overt rather than subtle narration.
Verdict: A mystery film that has gripping screenplay in the second half. A one-time watch.
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