Ego
Cast: Aashish Raj, Simran Sharma, Rao Ramesh, Ajay
Director: RV Subrahmanyam
Rating:
You may have seen many films in the past few years which show the lead pair engage in a few bets, hate each other, the protagonist teasing the leading lady to tears before having her swoon in his love and together they fight against all the odds to lead a happy life. Looks like director RV Subrahmanyam is heavily inspired by films like Varasudu, Akkadammayi Ikkadabbayi and Aanandam among others to add his own bit of story, spice it up with entertainment, conceptualise a love track, one out-of-the-blue twist and a happy ending for his latest outing Ego.
Village folks Indu (Simran Sharma) and Gopi (Aashish Raj) share strong animosity between them. They don’t spare an opportunity to exchange banter and channelise their energy to humiliate each other. So, the first hour of the film is all about how the duo with their gang of friends are constantly at loggerheads to satisfy their bloated egos.
Director RV Subrahmanyam is not content with telling the basic story simplistically. Despite some double entendre ala Jabardasth comedy and some uninspiring acting, there are hardly any moments in the first hour which hold our interest. To be honest, the audience wonders what the director was trying to convey in the first place. I must say, it’ll take nerves of steel to sit through the first hour of the film, a tad too long and meandering mess of a story, penned by the director himself. He has come up with an unimaginative, predictable and boring storyline.
Unfortunately, for the viewers, 15 minutes before the interval, there is a twist in the story which doesn’t really take you by surprise. The sudden shift in emotions from the duo, who bite each other’s heads of for most of the time appears strange. It’s one of the most inept emotional scenes where the two list out all the reasons only to admit that they are in love with each other. The contrasting characters of the lead actors would have made for an engaging film. But, some silly gags, a few songs and endless action sequences make it an exhaustible tale.
You can see the director trying to bring in a twist at regular intervals. But his attempts to squeeze millions of ideas did not do much for the film as the storytelling goes on to become exaggerated by the time the climax to the tale arrives. However, it’s on the climactic pillar that the film stands out imposing and engaging. Otherwise, till the introduction of Rao Ramesh and Ajay’s characters, things go awry. There are mass moments that attract wolf whistles, but the movie is let down by a ludicrous plot.
Aashish Raj and Simran played their part with sincerity but for the most time, there’s little to remember. Prudhvi, Shakalaka Shankar, Chammak Chandra and Posani’s comedy provides some hearty laughs. Rao Ramesh and Ajay stand out. Other actors failed to rise above the flawed script. There wasn’t much for the technicians to show for themselves. Sai Kartheek makes a mark with his catchy tunes and his background score passes the muster. Shreya Ghoshal’s Emo idivarakemo’s lyric is melodic. Ego is a film that is devoid of highs. One is sure that there may be takers for this story, but the audience definitely deserves better.
muralikrishna.db@newindianexpress @onlymurali