In this borderline weird suspense thriller, everything the authors have in mind comes true. I would like to meet this writer. I might ask him to write a story where this lackluster thriller disappears, disappears at the snap of a finger.
A remake of a hit Tamil film Deja vu, repeat in Telugu (presumably the Telugu audience is not very good with French terms) is so awesome that we are forgiven for every mistake. Gangster Gangraju.
Deja vu, I Repeat, is a slow-paced thriller with characters who don’t grow up, moaning about the self-importance of growing teenagers, trying to impress their parents with smart skills. Troubled writer Subramanyam (Achyuth Kumar) seems like he would like some fresh air and writes a story about a kidnapped girl. A girl is actually kidnapped. If he knows how this story will play out in real life, why doesn’t he just write a happy ending to save the girl from the kidnappers, and be done with it?
But no A special police officer Vikram Kumar (Naveen Chandra) is called to solve the case of a writer who makes crime stories come true. Naveen Chandra’s Vikram is an honest guy who is not interested in solving the case other than dragging it out so that it is relevant to the plot. Apparently, only the parts shot with Naveen Chandra’s Vikram differ from Telugu to Tamil. the original
If Chandra’s thoughtful look is to bring Repeat to life, then I repeat, this thriller is as stagnant as ditchwater. Ghibran’s loud background music hammers through the scenes like nails in a stubborn coffin. It’s the kind of movie that boasts super-smartness, but is bogged down by its inability to hold onto its plot.
The characters behave very strangely on purpose. Madhoo – remember him in Mani Ratnam Roja?—is now Madhoobala. Asha Pramod plays the role of a senior police officer whose daughter is kidnapped. ‘duh’ in broad daylight.
On paper Madhoo (Bala) plays an honest cop who would not hesitate to kill any criminal who comes his way. Here he is limited to begging and moaning about his kidnapped daughter, asking the writer to write the kidnapped girl’s rescue scene for money.
Presumably, this blatant display of corruption is fine if one’s family is at risk. What happened to the good cop Dilip Kumar who risked his son’s life to get the criminals of Ramesh Sippy Shakti? The subversion of basic ethics goes to the heart of the argument. When DGP Asha Pramod commits a heinous crime, police Vikram tells him to relax his scowl and leave the responsibility of cleaning up the mess.
The bigger question: Who will clean up the mess this movie creates? South filmmakers seem obsessed with police procedurals. But there must be more to it than impoverished policemen and corpses littered with carelessness.
Subhash K Jha is a journalist based in Patna. He is writing about Bollywood to know the industry from the inside.
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