Circle Movie Review : Silly ‘Thamalapaku’

Director Neelakanta returns with ‘Circle’ after a gap of nearly nine years. MV Sharat Chandra, Venu Babu Addagada, and T Sumalatha Annith Reddy have produced the movie.

Let’s analyze his latest thriller in the town.

Story:

Sai Ronak is a reputed photographer named Kailash. Baba Bhaskar plays a supari killer who arrives at his doorstep to kill him. The film then cuts to Kailash’s past where he had a one-night stand with a painter named Arundhati (Richa Panai). Another year in the past, he came across Malavika, the daughter of an MP, and fell in love with her. Did Arundhati send the supari killer? Or, did Malavika’s politically influential father do it? Who wants Kailash to be dead? Why does the mystery person want to see him dead? That’s what the story is about.

Performances:

Sai Ronak has to improve his skills. He has been getting opportunities on repeat mode. It is high time the actor finds his footing.

Richa Pannai and Arshin Mehta (as a royal princess whose character comes in the second half) have been considered for bringing zero baggage. They don’t help matters. Choreographer Baba Bhaskar was seen last year in ‘Nenu Meeku Baaga Kavalsinavadini’. He is imagined as an antagonist for a change. The experimental approach gives way to lackluster results, though. Snehal Kamat and others are average.

Technical Departments:

The thriller has music by NS Prasu and cinematography by Ranganath Gogineni. Between the duo, the former has a more assured approach. He brings his experience to the table but the intensity of his work soon fizzles out. Madhu Reddy, the Editor, should have known better. There are plenty of thrillers to draw lessons from. ‘Circle’ beats around the bush.

Plus Points:

• The overall theme.

Minus Points:

• Immature dialogues between adult characters.
• Zero build-up to the love relationships.
• The random behaviour of the antagonist for the most part.
• The female characters are senseless. They fall in love with the male lead so easily. And they behave like psychotic creatures after that.
• Lack of tension in proceedings.
• Plain background score.
• Feeble production values.

Verdict: ‘Circle’ was not the kind of film expected from a National Award-winning filmmaker like Neelakanta. The dialogues, the storyline, the impact of the most crucial scenes and the execution leave much to be desired. The villain refers to his victims as ‘Thamalapaku’. The film itself is an inane ‘Thamalapaku’.

Telugubulletin.com Rating: 1.5/5