'Bhimaa', produced by Sri Sathya Sai Arts, was released in theatres today (March 8). In this section, we are going to review the latest box-office release.
Plot:
In a lawless land, a local mafia don named Bhavani (Mukesh Tiwari) is a rule unto himself. He is into smuggling and butchers any cop who dares him. Bhimaa (Gopichand), a no-holds-barred and gutsy cop, enters the town and tames him in no time. But there is a bigger beast waiting to hit back at Bhimaa. The second half is about who this antagonist is, what are his motives, and how (and whether) Bhimaa sends him packing.
Post-Mortem:
In fairness to Gopichand, he recognized that the story of 'Bhimaa' is formulaic, albeit with a touch of fantasy. However, the fantastical aspect fails to resonate as intended. Ultimately, the film's genre transitions into a perplexing blend of absurd melodrama and bizarre plot points.
Bhimaa's characterization is just meh. Every young girl in the town finds him irresistibly handsome. And the sidekicks become hype bros at every opportunity. He gets likened to the power of one thousand transformers. Phew! There's nothing inherently unbearable about it, except for the undeniable feeling of déjà vu from encountering these tropes countless times before.
The romantic tracks wouldn't have existed had the characters played by Malvika Sharma and Priya Bhavani Shankar not been idiotic. One heroine does rowdy-shopping at a police station. And the other one... We simply don't care about her because the man she pines for is a caricature.
Somebody told dialogue writer Ajju Mahakali that lines have to necessarily rhyme or else Trivikram Srinivas would be using all the conceivable rhymes in the universe in his next film. So, Ajju bombards us with 'Duty' and 'Responsibility' in the same sentence. In a scene, Bhimaa delivers a Pulihora-relishing line when he says this: 'When Tiger cooks Tiger rice, it will be nice'. When the heroine says she needs a bodyguard, our hero turns creative and says, "Your body needs a guard", making sure to refer to her figure through his gestures.
The performances are dull and uniformly so. Gopichand is ill at ease with his cop character, trying to fit into a role he was not cut out for. Priya Bhavani Shankar plays an over-talking girlfriend. Malavika Sharma's scenes with Bhimaa are embarrassing when they are not cringe.
Our filmmakers have moved on from casting the likes of Nassar and VK Naresh in braindead parts. But A Harsha being a Sandalwood talent is yet to move on. Kannada filmmakers have always struggled with comedy and 'Bhimaa' is yet another proof of their inability to evoke laughs. Even Vennela Kishore and Saptagiri fail to end the audience's misery even momentarily. The likes of Raghu Babu and Chammak Chandra look more serious than they should have.
Ravi Basrur of 'KGF' and 'Salaar' fame has nothing new to offer. If anything, his background score waters down a few scenes. The much-hyped interval and climax action scenes have a limited masculine appeal.
Closing Remarks:
'Bhimaa' goes for a toss. Everything from its story to the execution is a goner.
