'Bombhaat' is a romantic sci-fi that is now streaming on Amazon Prime. The Telugu-language film, written and directed by Raghavendra Varma, belongs to a rare genre. How does it treat the genre? Is it worth a watch? Let's find out.
Story
Vicky (Sushanth Reddy) brings misfortune to the people around him. His parents (Tanikella Bharani and Hema) are comically miffed with him for this reason. His love affair with Chaitra (Chandini Chowdary) lands in a soup for the same reason. His scientist-friend Prof. Acharya (Sishir Sharma) is his only hope. But Acharya is threatened by Mad Scientist (Makrand Deshpande), who wants a secret from him. Enter Maya (Simran Chowdary), Acharya's daughter, and the whole plot thickens.
Performances
This one has got amateurish performances all throughout. Almost everybody with the exception of the female leads is over-the-top. Even comedians Fish Venkat and Priyadarshi, who rarely fail to click, are miserable. The less said about Makrand Deshpande and Vineet Kumar of 'Vikramarkudu' fame, the better.
Technical aspects
Josyabhatla's songs are forgettable, while Rajasekhara Sarma's background score scrapes through in light scenes. Sathish M. Lasa's cinematography and Srikanth Ramisetty's production design are painfully basic.
Plus Points
The premise is decent enough.
The idea of a female humanoid robot, inspired by Sophia, is interesting.
Minus Points
For a romantic sci-fi, this one is too frivolous to be taken seriously. The romantic track is absurd and has no emotional heft.
The hero gets unbelievable inspiration all of a sudden in the climax.
The villain, despite being a megalomaniac, is so silly and inefficient in his ways.
The songs are intrusive and should have been best avoided for their wooden feel.
The dialogues try to evoke laughter but end up irritating the viewer.
There is zero chemistry between any two characters.
Analysis
'Bombhaat' is ridiculous in the way it narrates a rare genre. It rehashes tropes from old-school drama and fits them into the sci-fi basket. Besides being a casting calamity, it also suffers from an itch to play to the gallery. After a haranguing 135 minutes, it's most likely that you will want to become an emotionless humanoid robot yourself!
