A whole bunch of films hit the theatres on August 15, 2024. On the eve of Independence Day, Ravi Teja – Harish Shankar’s Mr Bachchan, Ram Pothineni – Puri Jagannadh’s Double iSmart, Narne Nithin’s Aay and Vikram’s Thangalaan hit the theatres. Here is a roundup of the reviews of these films. Check them out.
Mr Bachchan
‘Mr Bachchan’ attempts to recreate the magic of the 2018 Hindi film ‘Raid’, based on a real-life tax raid in the 1980s. However, this Telugu remake fails to capture the essence of the original. Director Harish Shankar, known for his successful adaptations, misses the mark here by throwing in dated comedy and forced romantic subplots that do little to enrich the story.
The romance between the main characters, which should add depth, slows down the pace and makes the first half feel unnecessarily long. The highly anticipated heist sequences lack the necessary drama and suspense, resulting in a flat and uninspired narrative.
Read the full review here: Bad remake!
Sakshi Post rating for Mr. Bachchan: 2/5
Double iSmart
Double iSmart fails to live up to the expectations raised by its predecessor. Despite Ram Pothineni’s best efforts to fill the screen with life, the film suffers from a repetitive and uninspired narrative. The plot, which had potential with its intriguing premise of a memory transfer between hero and villain, is weighed down by outdated storytelling techniques and lackluster execution.
The film’s biggest flaw is its reliance on cliches. Puri Jagannadh rehashes elements from his previous works, making the film seem like a recycled mix of ‘Paisa Vasool’, ‘Liger’ and ‘iSmart Shankar’. This lack of originality takes away the suspense from the story and leaves the audience with a feeling of déjà vu rather than anticipation.
Furthermore, the comedy track, especially Ali’s role, is a glaring misstep.
Read the full review here: Double Frustration
Sakshi Post Rating for Double iSmart: 2/5
Thangalan
Although the story is exciting, the filmmakers still need to connect the audience with the film. According to the audience review of the film, this is one of Pa Ranjith’s weakest creations. A more exciting story could have done a better job of balancing the poor screenplay.
The lead actors gave excellent performances but the screenplay was slow and lacked suspense. Most of the audience said the film was a disappointment. Despite the poor screenplay, the background score and music by GV Prakash Kumar managed to enthrall and entertain the audience.
Some scenes from Thangalaan are worth watching like the one where Vikram wears a pant shirt for the first time and women wear blouses. These scenes gave the viewers goosebumps. However, the inconsistency of these scenes disappointed the fans and audience.
Read the full review here: Thangalaan
Sakshi Post Rating for Thangalaan: 2/5
Aay
Aay shows comedic flair, but the strong influence of Jathiratnalu is hard to ignore. The core of the film, which focuses on love and friendship between people of different castes, is a promising premise. However, the director’s over-reliance on humor distracts from the serious and emotional undertones that such a story requires.
The first half of the film is full of laughs, but towards the end of the intermission it falters, loses momentum and gets bogged down in repetitive and drawn-out sequences. It is only during the prologue and climax that the narrative regains some seriousness, but by then the damage is already done. The film, which had the potential to become a cult classic, instead ends up as a missed opportunity and fails to rise above the level of a decent entertainment film.
Read the full review here: AAY film review, rating: Little fun, few flaws
Sakshi Post Rating for Aay: 2.5/5
