What Is the Story About?
Surya (Teja Sajja) and Vennela (Shivani Rajasekhar) decide to end their lives. At the stroke of committing suicide, their mobile phones change their path. All that happens because they have the same mobile number but can’t meet. The series of events that trigger in their lives due to it forms the rest of the story.
Performances?
Adbhutham happens to be the debut film of Teja Sajja. He has done the film even before Oh Baby but it got delayed due to various reasons. He has come up with a decent performance. He is alright in easy situations but is not comfortable in emotional scenes. But then, they are still good considering it to be his first film.
Analysis
Adbhutham’s storyline is similar to that of the Playback (2020) movie. Since Adbhutham is a delayed film, we can not say what came first – the egg or the chicken. The film is about two people of different timelines talking to each other on phone. There is a scientist character who says a reason but it sounds crap.
But that is not the problem with Adbhutham. The Time Travel (?) concept is a novel and decent subject chosen by the director Malik Ram. But then, he used it to weave a love story carrying a twist. We usually expect the director to tread on the path less traveled for the film. But then, the movie is majorly about the love story running on the thin line of Time travel.
The first half starts with the problems of Surya and Vennela. But then, they do not sound convincing enough to lead to suicide. The reasons are not established well so that they do not appear serious. The Time Travel concept itself will come with a share of cinematic liberties. But it leads to a boring love story which is a show stopper.
Furthermore, the gap between the two timeframes is just five years to keep the love story running. That is a mistake. A wider time gap would have ensured some interest with the change of times. The first half of the film is passable despite some issues. But the second half causes bigger trouble with too many boring scenes. The final portions are stretched so much you feel that the movie is happening forever. The movie easily runs for 20 minutes more than what we expect from such films.
Performances Of Shivani and Others?
This is the debut film of Shivani Rajasekhar. She is okay in normal parts but struggles in emotional scenes. Satya is seen as the hero’s sidekick. His comedy fails mostly but works well in a couple of places. We have a couple of other noted faces like Shivaji Raja, Devi Prasad, Tulasi, and others who are like okay. There is a shallowness in the characterizations which ensured that they did not work.
Music and Other Departments?
There are a few songs that never worked and only add to the length of the film. The background score is strictly okay. Naturally, concepts like this need a good Background score. But it is more of a love story at the end which means the music director may have thought the extra effort is not necessary. The camera work is alright. The dialogues worked here and there. The runtime is on a higher side and it is a huge issue especially in the later parts of the second half.
Highlights?
Relatively New Concept
Drawbacks?
Lack of depth in the writing
Deviating from the core point
Too much lag in the second half
Stretched Climax
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, in parts
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, but keep your expectations low
Adbhutham 2021 Telugu Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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