‘Funky’ movie review: KV Anudeep’s lazy parody of the film industry tests your patience

Jathi Ratnalu Director KV Anudeep’s latest film, cowardiceis set in a bubble – the Telugu film industry, a world to which filmmakers have immediate access. The premise itself – where an aspiring director falls in love with the daughter of an established producer – is a fictional take on the love story of an industry couple, director Nag Ashwin and producer Priyanka Dutt (who is frequently referenced in the film).

The meta-backdrop provides the storyteller with a convenient excuse to drop truth bombs about the industry in the trademark sarcastic humor for which he is known. in every second order cowardice It’s either filled with cameos – from producer Dil Raju to Naga Vamsi and director Harish Shankar – or filled with jargon typical of showbiz: pre-release events, location scouting, on-set drama and gossip.

Komal (Vishvak Sen), a new director, is said to be causing trouble on the film set. Budget of his film (also title) cowardice) increases manifold with time, putting veteran producer Sudarshan (Naresh) under a lot of stress. When things go out of control, his daughter Chitra (Kaidu Lohar) steps in to save the project. After initial friction, Komal and Chitra fall in love with each other, although the romance is far from conventional.

Apart from the love story on the sets, subplots involving a goon-like financier, GK (Sampath), and Komal’s family (which includes her mother and soon-to-be-married sister) keep the story busy. Funky tries to play to the common man’s curiosity about how the film industry operates, but Anudeep struggles to offer a fresh perspective or keep the story engaging.

When Komal’s film is on the verge of being shelved, he makes Chitra a ridiculous offer: ‘Either fund the project or make love to me.’ The banner has been named Manchi Productions, to carry forward the producer’s slogan of always making ‘good’.Manchi) movies. In another example, a financier is so desperate to meet Jr. NTR that he takes his family to a promotional event, and packs a box of namkeen and snacks for the star.

As soon as the producer asked Komal to complete the final part of the film within one crore (instead of four crores), she pooled her resources to complete the work with minimum expenditure. He asks Chitra to share her costumes with the heroine, takes over the role of a gangster from the producer, and involves his childhood friends as junior artists. However, the script quickly runs out of ideas and the comic punches become tired.

There is hardly any flow to the proceedings and the entire film plays out like an industry insider’s indulgent joke, giving no chance to the audience to connect with the background. Chitra lacks even an iota of personality; It is difficult to understand why a powerful woman would tolerate a buffoon like Komal. Even the character of Komal is derivative, based on the director’s off-screen persona and lead characters from his previous films.

Surprisingly, in the second hour of the film, the narrative briefly picks up pace when the story sidesteps the industry drama and focuses on Komal’s oddities in the domestic setup. The thread involving her sister’s wedding is particularly effective in its commentary on the social obligations in the events and provides a strong context for Komal’s weaknesses in expressing herself.

The film should ideally focus on Chitra’s need for a partner who takes care of her family and pays attention to their concerns. Komal is far more convincing as a family man than a director in dealing with two-faced relatives and opponents during the marriage scenes. Funky’s most touching scene is the one where Komal takes the trouble to explain to her mother how he acts differently, yet means well.

The subplot involving financier GK is the only segment that delivers a bang, largely due to Sampath’s conviction and effective delivery. Otherwise, Vishwak Sen’s awkwardness in bringing meaning to a confused character is evident. As the comedy runs out of fuel – which happens fairly early on – he looks largely clueless, except for that brief period in the second half.

Kayadu Lohar has been deprived of anything significant, reducing him to a character with the soul of a fashion parade. Ishwari Rao, despite having a brief role, is excellent with her comic timing and brings appropriate emotional depth to her performance. Naresh has been in tremendous form, although his talent has been underutilized. Jai Krishna, Pammi Sai and Muralidhar Goud failed to register a strong impact.

Bheems Cecirollo’s music doesn’t provide any relief to the film; The tasteless songs are badly inserted, providing a temporary distraction from the emptiness of the plot. The background score is equally useless. The narrative is far from coherent; Most of the scenes lack continuity and appear to be strung together haphazardly. Needless to say, every problem with the film is based on bland, lazy writing.

It’s time Anudeep stopped having the same goofy characters in different situations in all his films and made a real effort to offer something new. While his previous release Prince (which failed at the box office) was quite watchable, cowardice This is his weakest work yet. It’s so comfortable it’s hard not to even try.

published – February 13, 2026 04:14 PM IST