POPCORN REVIEWSS

Written by Maruthi Dasari, I wouldn’t lie that the concept of The Rajasaab felt mildly interesting given that it involved the protagonist supposedly trapped in a meta-physical fever-dream created by the antagonist. There is a brief moment towards the end on how the lines between the reality and alternate-reality blur, only for later to realise that it was my mind that could not take any more of its torture! In that sense, the drama here invents a new genre – a torture comedy, tactfully curated for people to admit to even those crimes that they may have never committed.

The drama is a stereotype is every sense wherein the girls go gaga over the protagonist even as the camera focuses on his legs! Weird fetish you may say, but it gets weirder wherein the protagonist commands a bunch of goons to respect women, before being guilty of crossing the line himself. In the next scene, you see Raju literally mistreating his own grandmother who is suffering from alzeimer’s. That is a different question on how she keeps forgetting (unintentionally) that she has alzeimer’s. And somewhere, it is assumed that the goons are beaten up even as Raju breaks into a song that faceswaps Prabhas’ face on the body of a body-double. If this paragraph seems disjointed, so is the film. The core idea is for Raju to find his missing grandfather who is the connecting link of his family, even as his forgetful grandma cannot recall the same – except that her husband is missing. Why am I even analyzing this scene? Why are you even reading the review?

There is a full blown romantic subplots that the writing focuses on while steering clear from the folklore that was integral to the story. This is why I am frustrated while watching films of the Telugu Film Industry – they incorporate multiple genres so poorly, that subplots just add minutes to the already long runtime. Just for the record, this is Prabhas’ version of Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon wherein Prabhas does a Kapil Sharma, romancing not one, not two but three females. While his childhood crush Priya (Riddhi Kumar) is away for most of the runtime, Raju is attracted to a nun named Bessy (Nidhhi Agerwal). Why a nun you may ask? It is Nun Of Your Business. Later, another woman randomly drops by at a restaurant with a bag full of cash because Raju looks like a million bucks with his rugged beard and a makeshift wig. Impressive right? That woman is Bhairavi (Malavika Mohanan), who along with Bessy and Priya would go onto contribute to the cringe in the storyline.

The screenplay is so messed up that at one point you see Raju and his clan trapped in the haveli of Kanakraju (Sanjay Dutt), his grandfather (or is he?). And while you would assume that the tensions must build at that juncture, you see the protagonist literally requesting the spirit of Kanakraju to wait for five minutes, as he is about to have a quickie with Bhairavi. The focus is on a sweatdrop on her navel, and if you are cringing, so am I. And while the camera cuts aways, you can probably imagine the Toxic teaser playing out for context. In another scene, you see Bhairavi and Bessy fighting for Raju and discussing their love bites that made me exhale in frustration. Bhai, chal kya raha hai? Mazaak hai kya?

Then you have sidekicks worse than garlic on your Jain Garlic Bread being toasted to char, a hypnotist who comes and gets hypnotized himself and leaves, a random hospital sequence featuring a character on a ventilator – just like the viewers watching the film, some irritating gags that typify the horrors of the comedy, and an antagonist that visualizes himself as a top order batter but in reality is protected by a nightwatchman. It was such garbabe that my seat developed a hole given how I was constantly fidgeting. And how do modern filmmakers choose to escape criticism these days? Infuse in a little bit of mythology at the end to whitewash the image of your problematic and imminently punchable protagonist, and make him into a God! Talk about hero-worship gone too far, even as fan-service is seen laughing on the side. All I can say is – Marked myself as safe from this bullsh*t of the highest order. Bhai Bolna Padega – Aakhkha Bollywood Ka Garbage Ek Taraf Aur Tollywood Ka Rajasaab Ek Taraf!