Tuk Tuk, produced by Rahul Reddy D, Lokku Sri Varun, and C SreeRamulu Reddy on Chithravaahini Productions and RYG Cinemas, hit the cinemas today. In this section, we are going to review the latest box office release.
Plot:
Three teenage boys (played by Harsh Roshan, Karthikeyaa Dev, and Steven Madhu) dream of owning a camera but find it tough to scrape together the cash. They hit upon the idea of collecting donations during the upcoming Vinayaka Chavithi festival to fund their goal. Their scheme takes a wild twist when they transform an old scooter into a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw to use in the idol procession ceremony. Through a supernatural and fantastical intervention, the new-born vehicle starts acting alive, making them wonder what their fate has in store for them.
Post-Mortem:
Writer-director Supreeth C Krishna's film is desperately dull for its genre. The trappings of supernatural fantasy don't come alive and are lost in the film's lack of ambition. The story is set in a relatively happy village where people converse like characters from the Pushpa duology. They seem unidimensional, directing their conversations for amusement. None of the conversations between any two set of people seem real. Nobody in the village suspects foul play even though the movements of the 'godly' or 'possessed' auto-rikshaw are basic and can be reasonably suspected to be the result of a sleight of hand.
No matter how hard the film tries to build a sense of mystique and aura around the vehicle through the background music and occasionally commendable editing choices, the gambit falls apart. That's because the treatment is underwhelming to the point that the film wants us to respect it because of its genre and motives. The treatment is outright frivolous at times.
The indie kids film vibe is undermined by the film's constant itch for conventional storytelling, especially in the second half. The reactions of the three children progressively seem more and more staged; they descend from rehearsed to artificial, and eventually, to farcical. The emotional connections they make are as all over the place as they can get. Without a key character establishing itself in the audience's mindspace properly, you start questioning the very genre-related choices of the movie. Instead of swaying us with innocence, the child protagonists want to come across as clones of Kesava from the Pushpa movies.
The villagers are self-consciously cartoonish and are a bunch of clichés. The characterization of the kids is uncharacteristically bland. They are not only generic but their creepy flaws are milked for laughs. Their idiosyncrasies are unfashionable and romanticized. Their run-of-the-mill, occasionally problematic, qualities are glamorized through slow-mo shots.
Karthik SaiKumar's cinematography and Santhu Omkar's music are worthy of appreciation. The songs smoothly blend into the narrative.
Closing Remarks:
Tuk Tuk attempts a whimsical blend of supernatural fantasy and coming-of-age comedy, but ultimately fails to deliver. The film's thin plot, cartoonish characters, and artificial performances make it a tedious watch.
