Teddy and Allu Sirish in ‘Buddy’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
About an hour after the Telugu movie started FriendIts lead actor Aditya Ram (Allu Sirish) wonders why he often has a saviour complex. This comes after instances when he, as a pilot, takes control and averts disasters after a panicked air traffic control officer Pallavi (Gayatri Bharadwaj) almost makes a mistake. In another instance, he helps an air hostess and aspiring pilot (Prisha Rajesh Singh) who panics mid-air. Though such instances reflect the stereotype of heroes rescuing women in distress, the self-aware statement of saviour complex makes up for it. It is occasional moments like these that director Sam Anton tries to create. FriendTamil film adaptation Teddy Directed by Shakthi Soundar Rajan, the film is excellent. But the promise falls short as the film mostly tries to lure the audience.
Good things first. Sam Anton has kept the essence of it Teddy’s The story — the protagonist uncovering an organ harvesting racket and the female lead having an out-of-body experience that results in her entering the body of a giant teddy — is the same, but everything else around it is changed to bring in freshness. The adaptation’s intention to do something new is commendable as it can appeal to even those who have seen the original film.
The romance story between Aditya Ram and Pallavi, though initially written clumsily, builds up an air of suspense as it progresses. Their first meeting is silly and it is hard to accept that a new, nervous Air Traffic Control officer is not monitored and never reprimanded for his almost reckless antics. Well, since logical reasoning and questions may not look good in a mainstream film, we go with the flow. In another instance, when a young woman suddenly collapses on a bus and is swiftly taken away in an ambulance that miraculously appeared at the same time, no one suspects anything. Then, why look for logical reasoning?
Buddy (Telugu)
Director: Sam Anton
Cast: Allu Sirish, Ajmal, Gayatri Bharadwaj and Prisha Rajesh Singh Story: When a young woman is kidnapped by an organ trafficking racket, an outer-body experience results in her entering the body of a large teddy bear, and it falls upon a pilot to save her and others by getting to the root of the problem.
The opening sequence of Friend It is also hyperbolic and exaggerates the obvious. Arjun Kumar Verma (Ajmal) leads an organ trafficking racket in Hong Kong for an organisation ironically named Hope Well Foundation. As if his actions are not enough to clearly state his intentions, he insists that he is not a doctor but a butcher and offers horrifying details about identity theft.
The film eventually redeems itself with a hospital scene involving Pallavi and evokes sympathy with the arrival of the walking-talking teddy Buddy. A child character who is not afraid of the talking teddy is a fun addition to the mix, but this character soon fades away.
In the later portions, as Aditya begins to unravel the racket, there is plenty of scope for mind games between him and the clever Arjun, who is often a few steps ahead of his opponents. There are portions where their game of outsmarting each other begins interestingly, but the forced comedy track inserted by the characters played by Ali and Mukesh Rishi spoils the process.
Friend is also full of pop culture references – RRR, Kalki And Teddy wields a big-sized gun that we have seen in many action entertainers in the last few years. Teddy’s jealousy towards Preesha Rajesh Singh’s character adds another dimension to a straightforward romance drama.
Till good triumphs over evil – after a long drama in the air – Friend It turns out to be a boring movie. However, there is a potentially entertaining romance and action drama hidden beneath a pile of silly humor.
