Awe Movie Review
One more filmmaker with strong short film background enters into Telugu cinema industry with a bang. Prashanth Varma who made acclaimed short films has chosen an out of the box film for his directorial debut. Awe is a ‘different’ film in every respect. It will either leave you ‘Awe’struck or totally confused after the screening.
Story :
A couple Radha and Krishna (Esha and Nitya) confronts Radha’s parents and confesses that they wanted to get married. A struggling chef Nala (Priyadarshi) tries to settle down in a job with the help of a talking fish (Nani). A scientist (Srinivas Avasarala) is in the process of inventing a time machine. A drug addicted woman (Regina) plots a robbery with her boyfriend. An egoistic magician (Murali Sharma) faces a challenging magician. Meanwhile a girl called Kali (Kajal) is so bored of her life that she is preparing to end her life. All these stories are interlinked, but how?
Performances:
Director did a good job in getting his cast right. Kajal is good as a girl going through painful life. Nitya is convincing as the girl who is in love with same gender. Esha gets an emotional scene where she performs well. Murali Sharma, Avasarala and Priyadarshi are good in their respective roles. Regina’s attire and her performance are very striking. Even the supporting cast did their bit. However, it is Nani and Raviteja who steal the show with their voiceover.
Technicalities:
Prashanth Varma excels in maintaining the suspense and keeping the interest alive by mixing various genres. The viewing experience will be spoiled if we get into the details of the story. Prashanth did well in getting good output from his cast and crew. However he should have taken care about the sluggish pace and farfetched setup of a few characters.
Background score by Mark is superb and so is the cinematography and production design. The film is technically brilliant. Editor needs to be commended for keeping the run time short with multiple layered stories. Production values are very good. It is very brave of Nani to back such an outlandish idea.
Thumbs Up:
- Concept
- Climax
- Nani and Raviteja’s voice over
Thumbs Down:
- Very complicated approach
- Sluggish pace
Analysis:
Awe is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is a path breaking film from Telugu film industry that rarely dares to break the shackles. There are some films in Hollywood as well as other countries that are based on similar concept, but Prashanth Varma’s setting and characters are entirely different from those.
Audience will keep guessing about what’s in store with each passing scene. It is not easy to guess what is going on until the director reveals the concept in the final scene. He cleverly mixed various genres into one and also made sure that humor isn’t missed in the process. It is a very serious film about a troubled girl, but the director and the team of writers did a wonderful job in creating fish and the Bonsai tree characters.
Nani and Raviteja’s voice over for these characters entertains a lot that we can excuse a few lags and the slow pace. But there are a couple of threads that are too complicated for audience to follow. Srinivas Avasarala’s character and his episodes are too bizarre and out of place. Even the setting for Regina’s character is very complex. The conclusion for Murali Sharma’s episode will raise eyebrows.
Most of the scenes seem convincing after the truth is revealed. However, not everybody can agree with what was shown until that point. The concept is brilliant but the execution lacked clarity. The film might appeal to the audience that looks for path breaking ideas, but the majority will be left clueless at the end. Its box office performance will depend upon how many actually connects with the outlandish storytelling and a shocking climax.
Verdict: Brilliant Idea, But Confusing Execution.
