There’s a fun film lying somewhere beneath the obviousness that pervades the majority of Bhamakalapam; one with delectable dark humour and thrills aplenty. We only get to see their traces though. The film gives the impression of being based on the earliest draft where the ideas are in their nascency, the themes are obvious, and the screenplay is undercooked. Here’s an example: Priyamani’s Anupama-a homemaker who runs a successful cooking YouTube channel-has committed a crime and Shanti Rao’s Pallavi, a pregnant cop is, incidentally, at her apartment to surveil another murder. Pallavi is a fan of Anupama’s and towards the end, the film even tries to interlink their lives. However, this angle is terribly underexplored, both thematically and even as a means to induce some tension into the uninspiring proceedings.
The film opens and closes with a parable and we see the filmmaker trying really hard to touch upon themes like faith and sanctity among human beings. In fact, a Muslim, a Christian, and a Hindu are key instigators of the story. It’s appreciable, but discarding this element from the screenplay wouldn’t influence the storyline one bit. While it doesn’t trumpet itself as an examination of religion and the human condition, its sense of pride is perceivable in its indulgence as the events near culmination. Pretense on a perceptible level is a dangerous trait, especially when the writing lacks enough depth to back the heaviness it aims for. Bhamakalapam could have been fun-even if inconsistent-affair, had it not fallen under the weight of its own pomposity.
The core idea is fascinating: a prying homemaker lands in deep trouble on the back of her curiosity about the lives of her neighbours. The plot surrounds a Fabergé egg worth over `200 crores, but that is not really her deal. Instead, her problems are with people. She is a flawed person and the writing gives her an arc to make rather serious mistakes, learn, and grow as a human. The fact that the character brings the mess upon herself by going to the lengths she does without any palpable motivation defines her personality. Her feats-which range from stalking a neighbour to expose his extramarital affair, to intruding another neighbour’s house-are completely unprovoked. This is what makes Anupama an interesting character. When she wrestles with conflicts, we know she caused this to herself, thereby creating a distance between us and her.
The tonal shits further accentuate the unevenness. Every time John Vijay’s Nayar (the quintessential comical gangster on the pursuit of the Fabergé egg) appears on the screen, we are left to wonder whether his antics (and not to mention, the decidedly fake accent) is supposed to make us chuckle. They clearly don’t. Had the dark comedy worked, I wouldn’t have minded the ostensible nature of the film. The film fails as a thriller too, with the reveals coming in with over 30 minutes of the runtime left.
Despite all its shallowness, there is an attempt to push the envelope, at least a tiny bit. Anupama, at one, point, is forced to amputate the leg of a dead body and the grotesque amusement that follows is perhaps the only memorable moment from the entire film. I wish the film took more such risks. As Anupama, Priyamani once again proves she can pull off any given role with ease and the aforementioned scene is a great example. She needed a better script though.
Bhamakalapam tries to be everything-a crime comedy, a drama, a thriller. The tagline reads, ‘ a delicious home-cooked thriller’. But it ends up being a cold, flavourless dish.
Bhamakalapam
Cast: Priyamani, John Vijay
Director:Abhimanyu Tadimeti
Rating : 2/5