'Amigos', produced by Mythri Movie Makers, was released in theatres today.
Story
Siddharth (Nandamuri Kalyan Ram) is a white-collar employee working for a construction firm in Hyderabad. When he comes to know of the concept of a 'doppelganger' (a double of a living person), he becomes curious and registers himself on a website that matches lookalikes. He comes to know that Michael from Kolkata and Manjunath from Bengaluru look just like him. While Michael comes across as a normal person, he has an ulterior motive behind contacting Siddharth. The good guys, namely, Siddharth and Manjunath, fall into the soup as the story progresses.
Post-Mortem
'Amigos', meaning 'Male friends' in Portuguese and Spanish, was definitely not the sort of follow-up that Kalyan Ram deserved after a blockbuster like 'Bimbisara'. It's also not the sort of thriller you would expect from a story revolving around three lookalikes.
The premise of the movie is decent and that's perhaps its only big asset. Debutant director Rajendra Reddy must be lauded for getting the premise right. There is a strong reason why Michael, who turns out to be a gun-wielding monster named Bipin Roy, wants to meet his lookalikes. In an out-and-out weak movie, the meeting would have been shown as an accident or a coincidence.
Once the meeting takes place, believability goes out of the window. Despite Michael's apparently suspicious way of talking, Sid and Manjunath don't suspect him a wee bit. They have fun in Goa as if they are identical triplets who were separated at birth. And the emotional bond that Sid establishes with Manju feels forced. There should have been a proper first act bringing out Sid's good nature. This was done by Adivi Sesh's 'Major' effectively; the protagonist's kind-hearted personality was established through his childhood and youth days' tracks in that film.
Do you know what 'Amigos' does with Sid's story? It introduces a lame rom-com track. Ishika (Ashika Ranganath looks beautiful but her character is underwritten) is that curiously juvenile youngster who rejects men's proposals because they fail to crack her ridiculous riddle-like question. The comedy scene that comes of it is also not executed well.
The second half is where the actual drama happens. And here, too, Michael aka Bipin Roy's dangerous character doesn't get his due. The menace is flat and the villainy doesn't raise the stakes. The action sequences look almost lifeless. The climax could have been far more engaging.
Ghibran's background score is okayish. The remix of 'Enno Ratrulostaayi' wins because of its choreography and the sizzling chemistry. Sounder Rajan's cinematography is decent. Tammiraju's editing is noteworthy.
Jayaprakash as Sid's father is good. Brahmaji gets a typical role of a comical uncle. The girl who played Kalyan Ram's sister is a talent. Saptagiri, Satyam Rajesh, Srimannarayana, Raghu Karamanchi, and others are seen.
Kalyan Ram shines through an imperfect script. The very thought of playing three roles would intimidate most actors. Ashika has the caliber to go a long way.
Closing Remarks
This thriller is a mixed bag. Three lookalikes should have delivered three times the impact. But we get one-third the potential only.
