Directed by debutant Vintesh, Super Zindagi opens with a tacky prologue set in a rural village in Karnataka, where a dreaded goon abducts a young girl, killing her father in the process. Unimaginatively staged, the narrative quickly becomes a tiresome slog with stale humour and forgettable performances.
Following the prologue, we meet Sidharth, aka Sidhu (Dhyan Sreenivasan), the epitome of a layabout whose only apparent talent is living off his girlfriend Vidya (a lacklustre Parvati Nair), while bouncing from one dubious business idea to the next. Sidhu’s characterisation is profoundly insipid, making it difficult to invest in his journey. Intended to be a likeable, boy-next-door man-child, Sidhu is unfortunately portrayed with monotonous energy by Dhyan, whose performance lacks the necessary charm for the role. Given his recent overexposure on screen, with new releases almost every other Friday, Dhyan seems disinterested in bringing any real enthusiasm or variation to his acting or dialogue delivery.
The film’s primary source of humour stems from Sidhu’s interactions with his long-time friend Mujeeb, aka Mujeeb ikka (Mukesh), an over-the-hill hustler. Mukesh, a seasoned veteran known for his comic timing, is sadly reduced to recycling tired and outdated tricks in a desperate attempt to evoke laughs. His character’s lecherous behaviour, perhaps considered humorous in a bygone era, now feels entirely out of place and fails to resonate.
The plot of Super Zindagi is as lifeless as its characters. In essence, it follows Sidhu and Mujeeb as they embark on a wild goose chase, seeking gold, supposedly hidden in rural Karnataka. This absurd scheme is initiated by Rudra, a rural Kannadiga who Sidhu randomly meets on a bus. Rudra convinces Sidhu that he has unearthed a significant amount of gold and needs Sidhu’s help to sell it.
The writers, just like its lead characters, expect us to believe that this random simpleton would trust a stranger merely because Sidhu is an outsider from another state. Initially uninterested, Sidhu is persuaded by Mujeeb, who sees this as an opportunity to make a quick fortune. As Sidhu and Mujeeb travel to Karnataka to collect a sample of the gold, the film begins to go around in circles. Rudra, who initially appeared trustworthy, starts making increasingly absurd excuses, delaying the handover of the gold. These scenes are dragged out far beyond necessity, with every attempt at humour falling flat.
We are also introduced to Naji (Johny Antony), another character who adds little value to the already tepid storyline. As a middle-aged party animal revelling in Bengaluru’s nightlife, his involvement in Sidhu and Mujeeb’s scheme is as pointless as it is grating. Meanwhile, we see Sidhu gaslighting Vidya into loaning him a share of the money to carry out this shady scheme. Vidya’s character deserves special mention for how poorly it is written.
An otherwise level-headed woman inexplicably tolerating Sidhu’s continual irresponsibility and endlessly forgiving his deceit is as unconvincing as it can get. Her character vaguely recalls Beena (Rima Kallingal) from Indian Rupee (2011), who at least had a semblance of good reason, without being a pushover, to stand by its impulsive protagonist.
By the time Super Zindagi attempts a moment of redemption with a revelation about one of its characters in the latter half, we are already disengaged by its mediocrity. Following a series of contrived misadventures involving a con and a predictable yet explosive deus ex machina, the makers even resort to featuring newspaper clippings about real-life fake gold swindles during the end credits—an amusingly tone-deaf attempt to lend credibility to an outdated narrative.
Movie: Super Zindagi
Director: Vintesh
Cast: Dhyan Sreenivasan, Mukesh, Parvati Nair, Johny Antony, Suresh Krishna, Rithu Manthra
Rating : 1/5