It is one thing to not take yourself too seriously when you are making a comedy and another when the irreverence serves as a mask to camouflage a lazily-written and a casually-executed film. To make up for a shallow plot and the limitations of its leads, the film is desperate to elicit laughs. Apart from Nithiin and Sreeleela, the presence of multiple comedians, actors from at least half a dozen film industries, an in-form composer and a cameo by Australian cricketer David Warner try to salvage a mess.
The Telugu film Robinhood, much like its title, leaves little to your imagination. An orphaned protagonist, Ram (Nithiin), takes inspiration from a school pledge to claim that the entire country is his family. In his childhood, he uses this excuse to rob the rich and helps run orphanages that are starved of funds (which is reminiscent of the Ravi Teja-starrer Kick). It is amusing that it takes the cops over a decade to focus on this case and nab the culprit.
As the cat-and-mouse chase unfolds, the action shifts to the return of Neera Vasudev (Sreeleela as the daughter of an Australian CEO) to India, whose path crosses with Ram. The film later delves into the conspiracy behind Neera’s return, her familial roots and a gangster who threatens to wreck havoc on their lives. It takes the predictable route of the hero rescuing the damsel in distress, outsmarting the gangster and evading the cops.
While director Venky Kudumula’s earlier films — Chalo and Bheeshma — did not have pathbreaking storylines, the tongue-in-cheek humour and relatable characters brought in freshness to the narrative and ensured that viewers got their penny’s worth. In Robinhood, he opts for a larger-than-life canvas, makes a messiah out of a wayward protagonist and creates a caricaturish villain (played by a Mumbai import). The conflict point is also tiresome. The comedy, expected to be a breather in a tense story, also falls flat.
The execution is largely uneven and confusing. The tone of the film changes as per convenience. The audience is expected to dread the bad guy who gets a pompous introduction, laugh for the hero’s silly one-liners, be warmed by his romantic overtures and dreamy duets filmed in picturesque locations, feel sorry for the victims in a village, hoot for the slow-motion shots in the action sequences and groove to a tasteless ‘special’ number (featuring Ketika Sharma). It is just all over the place.
A comedian wears a tee that reads ‘mountains’ as he heads to a hill station named Rudrakonda. A man runs a firm named ‘India’s No. 1 Security Agency’ because it will rank high on Google! A security agent, who makes a mockery of himself, sports a shirt with the logo ‘Ree-boku.’ Zebra is called the oldest animal on the planet because it is… wait for this… ‘black and white’, and another man mistakes ‘forefathers’ as ‘four fathers’. These are a few examples of what Robinhood sells in the name of humour.
David Warner in ‘Robinhood’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Robinhood is tolerable, to an extent, when it pitches itself as a low-stakes action comedy, even if it has highly exaggerated characters and pointless situations. Yet, it runs out of steam quickly. In a story which is all about a girl’s attachment to her roots and how a man stands up for her, the emotional link is completely amiss. There is little to hold the narrative together, and the performances are too laidback and mechanical for a ‘damage control’ act.
Nithiin has performed far better in his earlier films. Here, he utters his lines with indifference and the slow-motion shots do little to add spunk to the lifeless proceedings. Sreeleela’s character is reduced to a fashion parade.
Rajendra Prasad’s experience is wasted in a silly, over-the-top role that fails to make an impact. Vennela Kishore’s sarcasm and verbal banter with a perennially frustrated expression lacks punch. Several worthy actors such as Lal, Brahmaji, Devdatta Nage and Tom Shine Chacko are also wasted. The blink-and-miss cameo by David Warner is needless and unintentionally funny.
Visually too, the film struggles to make good use of its setting to add to its appeal. GV Prakash’s music (including the much-publicised ‘Adhi Dhaa Surprise-u’) is mediocre. Yet, for a film that seems over-stretched by at least 40 minutes, its major issue is the inefficient writing.
Robinhood is a reminder not to underestimate the audience and that no scale or big name can fill the void of a decent script.
Published – March 28, 2025 03:08 pm IST
The Hindu Cinema Plus
/
Telugu cinema
/
Telangana
