Evaru Review:Sesh strikes again.

 SMTV Desk 2019-08-17 16:43:02  
Evaru Review:Sesh strikes again.

The premise

What's there in that film? You may ask about the Spanish thriller The Invisible Guest. It has been very popular among those who watch foreign films on streaming services. And it was remade into Bollywood starring none other than Shahenshah Amitabh Bachchan and went on to become a blockbuster. Now, Adivi Sesh's latest thriller offering is based on the same film.

Indian filmmakers never faced a Contratiempo (setback - original Spanish title of the film) when translating the film for the local audience. Let's take a look at what's in store for us and how it differentiated from the well-loved original and the equally well-received Bollywood remake with Evaru review.

Story

Sameera is a young woman who married a successful businessman. She was a receptionist previously. She might even have a dubious past. Currently, she is facing the charges of murdering a police officer and her only hope is a corrupt SI, Vikram Vasudev - played by the go-to-man for thrillers in Telugu Adivi Sesh. She gives him a bribe and asks him to bring her out of the case.

For Vikram, Sameer is not what she says to be. And there more to Vikram than what meets the eye initially. He goes on probing Sameera and tries to connect a past case he was involved with - the disappearance of Vinay Varma. Sameera's defense is that she killed the officer when he attempts to rape her. It was in self-defense that she killed him. Did she really kill the police officer? Or what she says has more depth than is initially obvious? What's in store for Vikram? answers to all these questions form the rest of the story.

Writing and direction

Director Venkat Ramji did a commendable job of bringing a few new changes to the source material. Whether they all worked or not is another matter. The narration starts with the said murder and directly jumps into the point. But the pace is dead-slow till Adivi Sesh's character enters. This is where this movie compares unfavorably to the original and its Hindi remake. But the pace quickens once the character of Vikram Vasudev enters.

Also, in the original, the director used space and time constraints as part of the narration. Here, that is not the case. The dialogue exchange between Sesh and Regina who played Sameera is terrific but moves on at such a high speed that we may miss some of the best dialogues. Nonetheless, Abburi Ravi did a fine job. The direction is good for the most part. The usage of grey shades in the characterization of both Sameera and Vikram is done well. As promised, the climactic twist from the original is tweaked and it surprises the audience.

The cast

Advi Sesh once again excelled in a genre he has been fast becoming the guiding light in Tollywood. His dialogue delivery is heavily influenced by foreign films which he needs to correct as quickly as possible as with the increase in his success ratio brings more scrutiny. Regina has been given a complex femme fatale level role. She did her best but couldn't consistently maintain the histrionics needed for the character. Naveen Chandra as the murdered officer is neat. Murli Sharma has a surprise extended cameo and he did well. Rest of the actors did justice for their roles.

The crew

The music of the film scored by Sricharan Pakala is terrific. He enhanced the mood of the film with his sounds. The cinematography by Vamsi Patchipulusu is decent without being innovative. The editing is good. The production design is superb. And the production values are great.

Finally

Evaru may not reach the heights of the original and even better Badla but still makes for an engaging watch. hose who have not watched The Invisible Guest and Badla will be spellbound and those who watched any or both the films will still find this film acceptably good. Sesh strikes again.

Positives

Engaging screenplay
Strong writing (especially dialogues)
Adivi Sesh
Surprising twists in the climax

Negatives


Those who watched the original or Badla may find this film okayish
Narration lagged at places in the second half