Perfume review: This psychological romantic drama makes a fair attempt

Perfume is the latest romantic crime drama that competes with a few biggies at the Telugu box office this weekend.

Unlike a handful of films that arrive every weekend with routine run-of-the-mill tales, Perfume touches upon a unique storyline that perhaps none would have attempted so far in Telugu.

Let’s check the synopsis:

Nature photographer Vyas (Che Nag), who lives life on his terms, naturally has the instinct to detect odours. But one specially-made aromatic perfume makes his senses more active. Thus, he becomes prone to a new psychological disorder, which eventually gives him orgasm every time he smells the odour.

The disorder makes him commit a crime when he steps out of his house. Before he turns into a psycho killer, the police should catch Vyas.

Meanwhile, classical dancer Leela (Prachi Thaker), who wants to study the criminal’s psychology, learns some startling facts about the victim.

What happens after Vyas abducts Leela? Will he ever get caught by the police? What’s the backstory? — form the latter half.

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Analysis

Not often do we watch films in Tollywood with such storylines where a protagonist suffers from a smelling obsession and later turns into a psycho killer.

Perfume takes its sweet time establishing the characters and sets the right mood for viewers to understand the theme.

Director JD Swamy maintains a good pace during the entire first half and builds the story neatly without deviations.

Protagonist Vyas tries to decode his disorder and, at the same time, tries to confront the constant struggle caused by the smelling disorder inside him.

However, the second half goes slightly haywire because of the unconvincing backstory of Vyas.

His childhood days in the village, his first love experience at school, and the gossip peddled in school disturb his innocent mind. As a little boy, he faces discrimination at the school since he belongs to a small caste and subsequently escapes from honour killing.

While establishing the boy’s traumatic childhood, the director tries to weave the events in a sequence. However, he couldn’t properly connect the dots.

The boy’s backstory is neither tightly knitted nor evokes curiosity in the second half.

The protagonist has a different name in the school and is known as Vyas in later years. The hero’s strong smelling capacity and how he often feels orgasm – this aspect could have been explored more neatly on the screen.

One point that drives home the message, in the end, is how the love of female lead Leela cures this psychologically ill man who is nearly ostracised by society because of his abnormal behaviour.

The #EviEviEkkattedu from #Perfume is out now💥

Hit the 🔗▶ https://t.co/OHi9WoRocG 🥂@NagNageshLavuri #JDSwamy #FragranceManifestation #PrachiThaker #RamKMahesh @boselyricist #AnnaRaj #PrawinPudi @PROSaiSatish @saregamaglobal

— CheNagLavuri (@NagNageshLavuri) January 26, 2023

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Performances

Protagonist Vyas played by Che Nag is a complete miscast. Had it been some senior actor (probably a known face), the film’s outlook would have been different. Keeping his looks aside, Che Nag renders a convincing performance as a psychologically sick man who battles a mental disorder.

Prachi Thaker’s performance as criminal psychology student Leela is praiseworthy. After appearing in the suspense thriller ‘Rajugari Kodipulao’, Thaker fetched a good role in Perfume.

Abhinaya delivers a noteworthy performance as a senior cop who leaves no stone unturned when serving justice to women in society. Her portrayal of an aggressive Dabang police official is brilliant on the screen.

Harishchandr, Krishna Tej, and Bhushan chip in well in the end.

Ajay Arasada, who composed the background score and tunes for the film, has done a terrific job. The BGM and the songs “Evi Evi Ekkatledu”, “Ilanti Prema Eshwarude”, and “Kaalipothunna” explaining the mental and emotional pain of the protagonist are good.

The camera work at large is okay. However, the lighting and colour gradient in the visuals are not so rich.

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Verdict

Perfume talks about the issues of psychiatric disorders, love and women’s safety. However, the miscast of the lead protagonist is a big letdown for the story.

With the right mix of elements and a reasonably good screenplay, director JD Swamy neatly drives home a point about how a psychological condition of man could be destructive to society and ultimately it is love that emerges triumphant.

(Views expressed here are personal.)