Arjun Reddy (2017)Directed by Sandeep Reddy VangaRomantic dramas / love stories are not my cup of tea at all, I usually don't watch movies in this genre. "Arjun Reddy" would have totally escaped my attention otherwise, but as it's been getting a lot of praise, I watched it a couple of days back. The movie stars Devarakonda Vijay Sai in the title role. Arjun Reddy is a brilliant surgeon who, thanks to a failed relationship with Preeti (Shalini Pandey), has turned to alcohol and drugs as an escape. The movie shows us flashbacks to how their love developed during medical college – he being the topper in the college with anger issues, and she just having joined in the first year. We also see why they break up, and the movie keeps you interested to see how things would finally turn out. The subject matter isn't exactly new, but the movie has got deserved praise for writer-director Sandeep Vanga's more realistic take on the material. Yes, it is still very much a movie so you do have those crowd pleasing / hero moments but there's a more grounded tone to it. Though it's over three hours long, thanks to an engaging script, you wouldn't feel bored. The cinematography (Raju Thota) is great, and you wouldn't think this is a low budget film. The music (Radhan) is effective too. The material is served well by the acting, all of which is great. Special mention to Rahul Ramakrishna who plays Arjun's friend Shiva. Of course the star of the show, is Vijay Devarakonda, who is simply brilliant, portraying all shades of the character superbly. The character and performance is full of attitude and it's great to see how he has put his all into it. The movie has a fair bit of swearing in the dialogue and a more open approach towards portraying sexuality, and unfortunately this means there are quite a few instances of dialogue being muted despite it being certified "A". Apparently the version released overseas doesn't have these cuts. I'd rate the movie an 8/10 overall. This is a sketch of Arjun from the movie, done with 2B pencil on paper and scanned. #286 / 30-Aug-17
Posted by Intagrate Lite