Paagal – Crazy for you

Paagal

2021, Telugu

Director – Naresh Kuppili

Stars – Vishwak Sen, Nivetha Pethuraj, Murali Sharma, Simran Choudary, Megha Lekha, Rahul Ramakrishna 

Mohan's measure ⭐

An attempt to understand Indian movies from an American perspective can, at times, prove quite perpexing to say the least. The backstory to Paagal tells of a young man who loses his mother to cancer, and then sets out to replace her love by seeking a romantic partner. Along the way, his desperation opens to the idea of a homosexual relationship,  only to wind up in his attempt to kill the man he flirts with.

Freudian overtones like these are usually the subject matter of Hitchcock films. Leave it to the unfettered minds of Tollywood to turn all these ideas into a rom com.

The problem is the audience is not laughing to the comedy; they are laughing at the movie. Its awful dialog, its repetitive plot; its ridiculous sentimental coincidences which bring about a happy ending; all seem to poke fun at movie lovers anxious to return to the theaters.

The truly paagal in all this are Mr. Sharma and Ms. Nivetha, who have done disservice to their flourishing career by taking on major roles in this movie.

Paagal too will be you, if you actually wind up seeing this