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Bhramam

RATING
2 Star popcorn reviewss

Introduction

Okay this is now getting crazy! Bollywood is often accussed of remaking films from down South. Even as I type, there has been an announcement to remake the recently released Malayalam film #Home in Hindi. But this weekend particularly, the tables have turned! It was just a couple of weeks back that we had the Telugu Remake of the exceptional Hindi film Andhadhun titled Maestro! It was a faithful remake of the original except for the fact that it could not replicate the dark humour pretty well along with the music which fell short of the original. This week(and hold your breathe) releases yet another remake this time in Malayalam titled Bhramam. If you have been following my reviews then you would be aware that this is the year of Malayalam Cinema. Not only are their films original but they have a fine balance between Commercial Cinema and Parallel Cinema. And this is what makes it special. So when I got to know about them remaking Andhadhun, I was naturally shocked. But a part of me said, what if they tweak the story a bit to add their own flavour. So with much hope, I finished watching Bhramam on Amazon Prime. Is it worth your time, stay tuned.

Story & Screenplay

Bhramam follows the same story of Andhadhun, so I won’t get into it. The story as we all know by now is excellent with ample elements of dark humour. The screenplay here is extremely mediocre though. It begins with a spectacular setting(post the now infamous line, what is life? It all depends on the liver), where a man is shooting a wild boar which is blind(as opposed to a rabbit). Post this, the slide begins! We are introduced to the characters in a mad rush that takes away the flavour that the original had to offer. A few scenes although the sane are chopped and changed to slightly change the narrative which was just not required. It pains me to think that an industry that has achieved such great heights has green lit a screenplay that is at best mediocre when all you had to do was copy the original frame by frame to keep the flavour intact(something that the Telugu film Maestro had done successfully). Even certain events which would have otherwise made an instant impact are diluted due to the wobbly screenplay. Certain scenes are extended unnecessarily. Come the second half, I was just going through the motions to get this done with. Not the best example of how a remake needs to be done culminating into a climax which is badly executed.

Dialogues, Music & Direction

The dialogues are average although pretty similar to the original. The music is a big big letdown, the original pieces by Amit Trivedi are still unmatched and indeed memorable unlike the case here. The BGM is slightly better although it doesn’t do enough to heighten the drama. The editing is weak(remember the bathroom scene in the original or the one at the end where the doctor has his throat slashed?), neither of the scenes make an impact. Director Ravi K Chandran misses the mark and how! His direction flatters to deceive in most of the scenes. It goes to show what a prolific director Sriram Raghavan is and the amount of skills which he possesses.

Performances

The performances don’t exude any confidence too. Raashi Khanna as Cynthia is just about average. She doesn’t leave a lasting impact, in fact nowhere close to what Radhika Apte had delivered. Unni Mukundan as Abhinav is not upto the mark either and fails to leave the impact of Manav Vij. Mamta Mohandas as Geethanjali is no Tabu either. And the very fact that she would be compared to Tabu exposes her even further. It shows what a great actor Tabu is and the amount of shades she brings to the table and naturally so. The ever reliable Prithviraj is good as Ray but less convincing as compared to Ayushmann Khurana. Overall a forgettable day in the office for all.

Conclusion

Bhramam is probably the weakest Malayalam film of the year. Guess the law of averages has finally caught up! Available on Amazon Prime.

External Links: IMDB | WIKIPEDIA

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