It seems Tollywood never tires of horror comedies. With Anando Brahma, the genre seemed to have peaked. But just when we thought we’re all done with it, Ohmkar went ahead and created one more sequel in his hit franchise Raju Gari Gadhi.
Now, anyone who has watched the Raju Gari Gadhi 2 knows that the film has nothing to do with a Raju or a Gadhi. Same goes for the third offing. I hope Omkar realises that the success of the film can’t be burdened on a successful title.
Ashwin (Ashwin Babu), an auto driver is a menace in their neighbourhood. Maya (Avika Gor) who mostly just minds her own business has a few strange incidents associated with her. Anyone who pursues her romantically or says “I love you” to her meets a violent fate.
Finding out about this “strange force” that protects her, Ashwin’s haters hatch a plan to make him fall for her such that he gets beaten up next. What is this force and how Ashwin finds love in this paranormal setting is the rest of the film.
The Raju Gari Gadhi series is notoriously known for its horror-comedy genre. In this film, however, Ohmkar took the comedy part of it pretty seriously. Set pieces and sequences which make for elaborate comedic scenes are in a generous helping.
While some of the jump scares and thrills that you’d expect in a horror do appear, the major focus is on the comedy. The film heavily relies on crude humour, double entendres and comedians doing what they do best, to entertain the audience. And it did seem to work. The horror, not so much.
Ashwin looked much more at ease and in control in this film as compared to his last ones. He seemed to be in his comfort zone and Ohmkar also made the best use of his dancing skills in the movie.
Although he could have forgone the ill-placed and disturbing item song. Avika Gor did what she could in her role but nothing memorable. Comedians carried the film. Ali, Dhanraj, Brahmaji, Hari Teja and even Ajay Ghosh will be the ones keeping you engaged instead of a gripping screenplay or arresting direction.
Raju Gari Gadhi 3 is a comedy film set against a horror backdrop. But in its defence, it did try a different approach as compared to the run-of-the-mill horror films in terms of the plot.
Although that should be attributed to the original Dhilluku Dhuddu 2. Despite its crisp two-hour run time, when you aren’t laughing at crass jokes, you are left with nothing to really pay attention to.
| Movie: Raju Gari Gadhi 3 Cast: Ashwin Babu, Avika Gor, Ali, Ajay Ghosh Director: Ohmkar Rating: 2.5 |