1 Nenokkadine is an ambitious mindbending thriller

Sukumar’s Nenokkadine is a pathbreaking Telugu film. It is a honest effort and thanks to Mahesh Babu, Sukumar almost pulled it off in making a trendsetter in TFI. However, the ambition runs against all expectations Mahesh Babu’s fans would have out of his film. Added to that is the absolute failure of marketing the film for what it is, prior to release. Nothing in the title, logo or promos look reflecting the story and content of the movie. It looks like the producers didn’t want to project this as a thriller before release as they must have thought that would distance family audience from this big-budget flick. But the fact is that they would lose more from this mismarketing. Due to this failure in setting expectations, viewers would have hard time accepting Mahesh Babu’s character in the initial stages of the movie. This does not allow the viewers to relate or sympathize with the lead character. In addition to this, the movie does not spend enough time to build the character and instead jumps headlong with breakneck speed into the story, with its twists and turns. This lead many viewers to think the movie is ‘heavy’ with content and too much to digest! This is of course a story of a man’s mental anguish and it surely rubbed off on viewers!

While Sukumar handles the story well, he tries to marry the idea of Hollywood’s amnesiac hero with a tragic past with mainstream Telugu entertainment quotient like comedy. Scenes where heroine takes advantage of hero’s metal predicament about his hallucinations are attempts to inject ‘comedy’ in the film and don’t strengthen the story. When an ambitious storyline like this is tried, these little compromises make or mar the film’s effect. This is in sharp contrast, say to Gajini, where the hero’s metal condition is not made fun of but was shown in such a way to draw viewer’s empathy. Notwithstanding these, Sukumar made good of his direction and tightens up the movie towards the end of the movie. The reason that causes the whole story and the motive of the villains is conceptualized very well. The psychological agony that kicked off the story comes back in the climax for the lead character as he struggles to get it answered through the villain. For many who like the psychological depth in mainstream movies like the Bourne Series and the Dark Knight trilogy, Nenokkadine is a treat. For a mainstream 3 hour Telugu film, this is mind-bending but a honest and sincere effort. Kudos to Sukumar and Mahesh for such a vision and the producers for such a brave attempt.

For Mahesh fans, this is a welcome watch as he is in almost every scene in this movie and the star continues to try different characters and show penchant for new stories. Without him, this kind of movie with its production values wouldn’t have materialized for sure. However, his much-talked about six pack is not presented well. His costumes are well below average for a rockstar character (which is nothing less than a dream opportunity for the costume designers). Mahesh dances more than usual as the character demands but Sukumar’s focus obviously wasn’t on the songs going by how he picturized them. He used the songs to carry the story forward and the music and lyrics served the purpose. The background score elevated the film and boosted the mood of the film. The female lead Kriti Sanon acted well and her character carried herself decently in sharp contrast to the poster and the controversy around it. The cinematography and action choreography are excellent.

Overall Sukumar and Mahesh score well with the attempt but a 3 hour thriller is an overdose. It is honest in executing but fails in the craft. This should have been shorter and more focused film. Viewers wanting typical ‘entertainment’ Telugu films dish out won’t like this fare while those who are bored with them would enjoy this film.