BOTTOM LINE
Few Twists, More Drama
RATING
2.5/5
CENSOR
U/A, 2h 26m
What Is the Film About?
Surya is an RJ by profession. During an accident, he loses his parents and suffers from a strange condition where he can’t recognise people by their faces.
What happens when Surya witnesses a murder? The movie’s basic plot is how he overcomes his ailment to escape from the accusation and catch the real killer. The parallel tracks involves and love story and how it ends.
Performances
Suhas christened as ‘Actor’ Suhas starts showcasing his acting chops from the beginning itself. It’s a character that is designed neatly suiting his strengths and he does well with it. The emotionally helpless moments are where his skills come to the fore.
Payal Radhakrishna and Rashi Singh are the two female leads with prominent parts. Among the two the former plays the love interest whereas the latter has a major character part.
Payal Radhakrishna is alright performance wise, but comes across a bit off at times looks-wise. Rashi Khanna’s role gives her moments to act out of character which she has done decently. It could have been better though given the scope.
Analysis
Arjun YK directs Prasanna Vadanam. It is a thriller cum drama where the lead protagonist has to overcome his particular challenge and clear his name, and emerge victorious.
The opening block is crucial to follow the proceedings as all the key details related to the hero and his predicament are thoroughly established here. Of course, one can follow even otherwise, but it would be a better experience this way.
Once the problem is explained in details, the narrative takes time to drill in the same details via different situations between the lead pair. The love story and surrounding drama consumes most of the first. As the narrative reaches the hour mark we are finally introduced to the thriller aspect of the story.
Surya, our protagonist, witnesses a murder, but he can’t recognise the culprit due to his face blindness issue.
However, the subsequent portions again switch to the drama related to the lead pair which is routine and boring.
The parts which intrigue are the ones related to the thriller aspect. The twist that arrive as it’s part around the interval mark makes one look forward to the second half.
The beginning of the second half maintains the curiosity with circumstances perfectly overwhelming Surya. The toilet fight sequence is timed ideally rising the hopes further.
However, the subsequent portions lack the same high or gripping quality. Things happen quickly and conveniently. The thrills don’t hold any appeal apart from using the unique predicament of the hero.
Again, the same face blindness aspect is used for a neat twist towards the climax. It comes unpredictablely, no doubt, but the execution and conclusion doesn’t match the expectation generated with it. The whole thing ends with a tiring and overdone stretch of action.
Overall, Prasanna Vadanam has a unique premise that can be separated into drama and thriller portions. The former is routine and drags whereas the latter offers few twists. The uneven tone generated is a miss (mostly) and hits occasionally. Try it if you like something different, but have low expectations.
Performances by Others Actors
Nithin Prasanna gets a decent role that starts well but eventually fizzles out. Nandu and Goparaju Ramana are wasted. Viva Harsha does his usual and is okay at best. The rest of the cast hardly has anything to talk about.
Music and Other Departments?
Vijay Bulganin’s music is an asset to the movie. There are a couple of songs and one of them feels hummable. The background score gives the narrative a racy feel even when things look stagnant. The recurring hook music is excellent.
Highlights?
Basic Story
Suhas
Few Twists
Drawbacks?
Takes Time To Get Going
Fewer Gripping Moments
Narrative Lacking Tension
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, the thriller parts are decent enough.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, if you enjoy thrillers with unique premises.
Prasanna Vadanam Movie Review by M9
