1134 review: This heist drama is partly convincing with good performances

1134 is another small-budget Telugu film with relatively new faces. The heist drama is released on Friday, 5 January.

Let’s see how it fares at the box office:

An unidentified man kidnaps three young men — Laxman (Phani Sharma), Eric (Gangadhar Reddy), and Harsh (Phani Bhargav) — and throws them into a police guest house on the outskirts of the village.

With the motive behind the kidnap unclear, the three men decide to share their stories.

Eric hacks CCTV cameras near ATMs in the city, while Lakshman steals luggage bags near bus stops. Harsh specialises in looting money from ATMs.

Interestingly, all three unknowingly work for the same person. The kidnapper’s intention appears to eliminate them to prevent their crimes from being exposed.

As the three men manage to escape, they join forces to uncover the identity of the person responsible for their abduction. Together, they unravel the mystery of who committed crimes with them.

What is the connection to the cryptic number 1134? Will they catch hold of the perpetrator?— is the crux of the story.

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Analysis

The first part of the film focuses on the kidnapping of three young men, delving into their motives behind committing the crimes for financial gain and how they manage to escape their captor.

The first half unfolds at a slow pace. However, as the narrative progresses into the second half, the story gains momentum and becomes more interesting.

The movie becomes particularly engaging as the protagonists start investigating to identify the real culprit behind the crimes. Their connection with the number 1134 adds a compelling element to the storyline.

Surprisingly, 1134 takes an unexpected turn towards the end.

The filmmaker successfully makes a slightly out-of-the-box heist drama by avoiding the “cliched” and “conventional” kidnap setup we usually see in Telugu cinema.

The pre-climax blocks of catching the perpetrator and introducing a twist that extends the narrative give some edge-of-the-seat moments. However, the film lacks any female characters.

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Performances

The music scored by Murali Karthikeya looks decent but has room for improvement. Making a film with relatively new faces is a challenge in itself.

However, the director handles the newcomers well and derives convincing performances from the respective roles.

The characters show a natural and engaging presence on screen.

Krishna (Krishna Madupu), Eric (Gangadhar Reddy), Harsha (Phani Bhargav). and Laxman (Phani Sharma) portray their characters effectively with a blend of action, emotion, and comedy.

The cinematography by Najeeb Shaik and Jitender Talakanti is appreciable.

Director Ssarath strikes a chord with audiences with the blend of various genres — crime analysis, robbery, mystery, and suspense.

He skillfully avoids deviating from narrating the central part while maintaining a focused narrative, bearing a few non-sync and repetitive scenes.

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Verdict

The idea of the crime thriller 1134 is good. It needs a lot of expertise in carving such heist dramas where multiple elements are blended.

The film manages to be partly convincing with its screenplay and story as it relies on the performances.

(Views expressed here are personal.)