Movie: Pushpaka Vimanam
Rating: 2.25/5
Cast: Anand Deverakonda, Geetha Saini, Sunil, Saanve Meghana
Director: Damodar
Produced By: Govardhan Rao Deverakonda, Pradeep Errabelli, Vijay Mattapalli
Release Date: 12th November

Anand Deverakonda’s Pushpaka Vimanam right from its title launch and subsequent teaser and trailer release has evoked curiosity. The concept of wife eloping after the wedding and the investigation that follows has been presented in a comic manner with a bunch of solid support cast. Does the movie have enough to sustain the curiosity? Let’s find out

Story: Sundar (Anand) a young government school teacher has got married recently and life goes on normally. The trouble breaks in when he finds out that his wife Meenakshi (Geeth Saini) has eloped. He tries his best to hide this fact from his neighbours and colleagues with the fear of becoming a laughing stock. The mystery behind this sudden disappearance and its unraveling is what follows next with a series of investigations and comic situations.

Performance: Anand Deverakonda as Sundar looks the part and is convincing. His performance as a troubled and confused husband searching for a wife is quite believable. Geeth Saini makes a decent mark but has nothing much to do here. Saanve Meghana has got more screen time and scenes to showcase her emotions and she does the best job of the lot. Harsha Vardhan as the nosy neighbor gets a chunky role and is just adequate while Sunil as a police officer is wasted in the role. The other support cast members are just to fill the scenes and barring Naresh none leave a mark. On the technical part, the visuals by Hestin Jose Joseph look great and capture the tone of the film well. Mark K Robin’s BGM is another impressive aspect of the film.

Analysis: Pushpaka Vimanam starts in a decent manner and manages to engage the audience right away. The movie wastes no time in coming to the point of conflict and the story breezes through in the first half. It is the second half that kills the momentum of the film with dull writing and elaborate scenes. While the first half has some genuinely fun moments with situational comedy, the second half falters and stops the movie from realizing its potential

Plus Points:

BGM

Few comedy scenes

Minus Points:

Second half

Weak characterization of the support cast

Climax

Verdict: Pushpaka Vimanam is a classic example of a novel concept ad botched execution. The film showcases lots of promise and has moments that will engage you. However, the writing doesn’t engage the viewer and one would often wander off from the film. A stronger climax and tighter screenplay would have done wonders here.