Samantha and Vijay add charm; music is the only saving grace; cinematography fails to capture the beauty of Kashmir Valley.
Shiva Nirvana's directorial 'Kushi' is a romantic entertainer featuring Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. (X)
Kushi (Telugu)
Vijay Deverakonda could ace any sort of character — a bruised boyfriend, a pugilist who can shower non-stop punches, and sometimes a family man, too.
An optimal dose of depth in his character would create magic on the screen.
His latest movie Kushi, which is packed deftly as a family entertainer, hit the theatres across the globe on Friday, 1 September. Let’s see how it fares:
Vijay Deverakonda in a still from ‘Kushi’. (X)
Viplav (Vijay Deverakonda) is a free-spirited young man, who thinks only a government job would make his life happy. He joined the state-run telephone firm BSNL as a Junior Telecom Officer (JTO).
And his first posting in Kashmir makes him thrilled. Watching the sky-touching Himalayas, Viplav is awestruck by the beauty, so much so that he reminisces about the works of Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman.
But he stumbles upon another beauty called Aradhya at Dal Lake. Smitten by Aradhya’s beauty, Viplav pursues his love seriously. Eventually, they both end up tying the knot by convincing elders from both sides.
How does their marriage bring fissures in the families from both sides? What Viplav does to find peace in his marriage life is the story in short.
Vijay and Samantha in a still from ‘Kushi’ movie. (X)
The story in the first half darts through the Kashmir valley — Anantnag, Pulwama and Dal Lake in Srinagar where the protagonist Viplav finds his love Aradhya, and reaches Mamleshwar Temple in Pahalgam.
There’s a terrorist attack on Viplav’s vehicle, but the Indian Army thwarts it.
The love happens so quickly between Viplav and Aradhya as if you caught a superfast express at Kashmir to reach Hyderabad, but the train is delayed by several hours.
The way the protagonist pursues his love Aradya looks so outdated and even senseless.
He calls her “Begum” and the way he follows her and convinces her looks as if he is pleasing someone at the Necklace Road near Hussain Sagar. Maybe the director had forgotten that he was shooting in Kashmir. Phew..!
This JTO gets serious at one point and promises Aradhya to help her in finding her brother Feroz. This, he goes after the boys with Feroz, abducts them and brings them to Aradhya in the valley. Dude, is this Kashmir or the old city of Hyderabad tell me?
There’s a sequence where the hero utters a dialogue in the local dialect while seeking alms. “Mozhi Dhi Ken.. Katri Dhi Kayya,” for which the locals throw an apple at him whenever he shouts in front of a house.
Vijay’s character, who speaks manageable Hindi evokes laughter while he tries hard to win the heart of Aradhya. So funny that he would take the help of Sania Mirza to get his girl back from Pakistan.
A still from the film ‘Kushi’. (X)
The second half shows how Viplav and Aradhya enter wedlock against the wishes of their elders hailing from two different communities. But too many cliches in the film let you down.
Sometimes filmmakers end up making cringe scenes while trying hard to deliver the message like this one: a bunch of youngsters teasing girls in Metro Rail.
Aradhya is a victim, too. And Viplav thrashes the gang black and blue just to show that he loves her so much. Yes, a fight in a metro rail. Can you imagine?
Other senseless sequences keep testing your patience towards the end. A party sequence where Srikanth Iyenger, the boss of Aradhya, insults Aradhya’s husband for consuming too much liquor. And later followed by a peppy number… Ufff!
Samantha and Vijay Deverakonda during the promotions of ‘Kushi’. (X)
You could perhaps keep eulogising about Vijay Deverakonda’s looks on the screen. And if you’re a girl, you certainly couldn’t stop thinking and blushing about the character Viplav.
Well, he is a charmer. But the character is not on par with his earlier works, at least for performance.
Samantha looks as young as ever. She makes her contemporaries jealous.
Aradhya is an independent woman who has lofty dreams of working for on-site locations and excelling in her career. The way her character is designed looks so meek.
Sharanya Pradeep as Aradhya’s bestie and office mate is good.
Vennela Kishore plays a Bengali, who gets primary education at Puttaparthi. His comedy evokes good laughter in the first half.
Murali Sharma as Chadarangam Srinivas Rao, and Sachin Khedekar as an atheist gave their best.
Saranya Ponvannan and yesteryear actress Lakshmi did their bit.
The music is the only saving grace for Kushi, which barely has any story in it. Singles like “Na Roja Nuvve“, the title song “Kushi“, and “Aradhya” draws whistles in theatres.
The camera work in the film looks rich. But the creativity isn’t exhibited well while showing the locations of Kashmir valley — Dal Lake, Pahalgam and other scenic beauties.
You get to see either the drone shots or the regular wide angle which don’t add any value.
Kushi is a love tale initially, then becomes a family entertainer, and towards the end, it gets tilted with outlandish writing and cliched sequences.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan or a family man, it leaves a hole in your pocket!
(Views expressed here are personal.)
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