Arjun Reddy (2017)

Good idea lost in the noise

Admirable film.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The hero is born into wealth and without any effort becomes a great surgeon who has a drinking/drugs problem and anger issues. Due to his unreasonable brashness, he looses his girlfriend and sulks about it for months. Even how he got the girlfriend is disturbing; from the second she steps foot on campus he tells everyone she is his and protects her from bullying. Their difference in personalities (she's shy) and age (he's a senior) makes it seem like he is taking advantage of her rather than a natural mutual attraction. Meanwhile, in present day, he has no respect for anyone, performs surgeries drunk and brings misery to everyone in his life. However there is a happy ending as he magically gets over addiction when his grandma dies and gets back his girlfriend who turns out to be pregnant with his child. The miscommunication and reactions of the hero and girlfriend are illogical and unbelievable. Even when he have lost everything, the audience may find it to sympathize with such a terrible human being. Also the director applies slow motion to scenes often, even when it doesn't make sense. The background score is edgy and features English songs, probably inspired by Hollywood soundtracks. I agree that this is different from a typical Telugu movie but it also lacks proper plot and pacing. It glamourizes bad behavior and is more of a temper tantrum than a love story. If you want to waste 3 hours or are in the mood to hate-watch something, be my guest.

It's such a bloody waste of time. The actors should jump in the river.

I have watched it with english subtitles, as the movie was in telugu (or whatever is it ), Please watch it ... It is a request.

In the first act, we see Arjun Reddy as a spoiled rich and brilliant brute who does whatever he wants without any consequences. I hated the protagonist at that point. But then it started making more sense, he got a lot of negative aspects, he is nowhere near perfect even with all of his acts of righteousness, machoism and philosophy but he is honest in a society that tells you to lie at every turn of life. The misogyny and objectification through context (usual Telugu films directly do that) exist but it is also part of the world we live in and it is necessarily a part of him that makes the character more realistic that goes along perfectly with his toxic masculinity. Arjun Reddy succeeds where Kaatru Veliyidai was a failure in that sense. Vijay Devarakonda brilliantly portrays Arjun Reddy going through all those transitions. Even with all the familiar tropes at every point in the plot, the film keeps you engaged and gives some fresh perspective which may not be easily relatable but part of the world we live in.