Bhamakalapam movie review: Priyamani, Saranya are impressive in a film that tries hard to justify its existence

Language: Telugu  Abhimanyu Tadimeti’s Bhamakalapam has a crackling premise. A home-grown thriller about a nosey woman addicted to information that doesn’t belong to her. Imagine a thriller where the loud-mouthed Amani from Subhalagnam is trying to solve a murder or find a way out of one. Even if Priyamani plays a subdued version of this busybody and even if the Faberge egg thing isn’t fully-utilised—the film should have spent more time locating the lost treasure—there is something delightful about a mystery set in the narrow pathways of a worn-out gated community; a terrain that is least compatible with murder. Shilpa (Saranya Pradeep), a frustrated and scared domestic worker, asks Anupama ( Priyamani ) a question, which is also a crucial plot point, that has been bugging me from the moment it happened. I can’t reveal the question, but Anupama replies, ‘What do I know? I did what I thought was right at that moment.’ It’s a very vague thing to say, but I was convinced. Bloody hands are quite slippery, I imagine. This is the great thing about writing a character faced by an extraordinary event. The writer doesn’t have to burden themselves with logic; the character’s actions don’t need to make sense. But a film about them still has the burden of consistency. If you are, decidedly, making a community part of the film’s fabric, you also have to explain how a gigantic suitcase falling down a set of stairs isn’t a cause for commotion. If you want the viewer to believe that a police officer (why does she have to be pregnant?) is good at her job, you have to explain how she cannot hear a squeaky wardrobe open and close in a silent house. I mean, the loud, distracting BGM isn’t playing within the film as well, is it?

Thankfully, Abhimanyu’s writing is entertaining and innovative enough for us to not care about these discrepancies. Even if the lost shepherd motif is generously used, it ties the many threads running in the film together rather effectively. Mary and the theme of resurrection are also interestingly used. Deepak Yeragera’s camera, too, does a great job capturing this smallness, which only amplifies the intention of a scene. And with Viplav Nyshadam’s capable editing, he also manages to play around with frames.

Priyamani is impressive as this flawed woman. She isn’t the docile homemaker we associate her or most female characters with.

Her neighbours either fear her or hate her and, for the most part, she doesn’t care. Even if the writing upgraded the character with few added details—her being a Youtube celebrity chef, she still feels distant. The inner works of her personality aren’t fleshed out enough, and we don’t spend enough time with her to fully feel for her when she gets into trouble. The actor who plays her husband and more so the way his part is written also deserves some blame. The same problem brings down Kishore’s otherwise brilliant performance as Pastor Daniel babu as well. When you don’t root a character with some sort of emotional logic–why they are the way they are–they turn into harmful stereotypes. This brings us to Saranya Pradeep, who, despite being barely written beyond a template, steals the show. Yes, she plays the same woman she has been playing for a while, but she brings so much spark and humor into the scenes between her and Anupama(Priyamani). Bhamakalapam, as the name suggests, is about a Bhama (woman) who unlike Ray’s Charulata doesn’t need opera glasses to look at the world outside. As long as the film stays with this person and her messy way of being, it is engaging. But like most decent thrillers, the film develops an existential crisis after the midway mark. It tries to justify itself and decides that giving a message is the best way to be of use. Messages are good, but a film changing its route to make way for one will stand out like a sour thumb, and understandably so. Films need a theme to resonate, not messages. The day filmmakers realise this, we will get to watch films that are better than decent. But today, unfortunately, isn’t that day. Rating: 3/5 Bhamakalapam is streaming on Aha Sankeertana Varma is an engineer who took a few years to realise that bringing two lovely things, movies and writing, together is as great as it sounds. Mainly writes about Telugu cinema.

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