ARJUN REDDY A LANDMARK MOVIE

Deverakonda knows no fear. 

The film’s backbone is Deverakonda. He owns every moment on screen. Like Arjun Reddy, Deverakonda knows no fear. In a scene that signals his fall after his first drug overdose, you see him asleep and he has no bladder control. No image-conscious actor would do this.
The film moves between Mangalore and Hyderabad, unravelling chapters from the protagonist’s life. The narrative is free of cinematic twists and turns. The intense drama shakes us up as it unfolds. Arjun spews expletives, bashes up people and the couple isn’t shy of pre-marital sex. But all these are shot without voyeurism.





One may not be drawn into the story at once. It doesn’t sound right when Arjun threatens his peers to steer clear of the new girl in the campus he’s taken a liking to. The girl stays quiet; we don’t know if she feels intimidated. By and by, romance blooms and Arjun and Preeti tie their happiness to being with one another. Rage raises its ugly head when Arjun is insulted by her father.
Arjun could be interpreted as a modern-day Devdas.



But Arjun lives life more dangerously. The film doesn’t justify his inherent temper, thankfully. There’s no sob story flashback. He comes from a well-to-do family with sensitive parents, brother and grandmother. There’s excellent support from his friends. Rahul Ramakrishna as the buddy is impactful.




As we watch Arjun despair in self-inflicted pain, we wish someone had counselled him on anger management in his early years. But now, as he sinks deeper and all pleas fail, his grandmother (Kanchana, in a lovely role) understands his plight and says, ‘suffering is personal, let him suffer’.
At each stage, questions arise — significantly, can Arjun be trusted to save lives on the operation table? The in-house court proceedings are the defining moments. Is there hope? A turning point? The film takes its time (187 minutes) to arrive at a logical conclusion.