Movie: Romantic
Rating: 2.25/5
Cast: Akash Puri, Ketika Sharma, Ramya Krishna,
Director: Anil Paduri
Produced By: Puri Jagannadh, Charmi Kaur under Puri Connects
Release Date: 29th October 2021
Right from the release of the first poster the audience had an idea of what to expect from Akash Puri and Ketika Sharma’s Romantic. The subsequent teasers and trailer made it clear that the film is going to be a raunchy love story with action sequences and Puri mark sprinkled all over. While Akash Puri has played lead roles before, this his entry into the world of formulaic commercial entertainers.
Story: Vasco De Gama Alberto (Akash Puri) is a young gangster with a good heart. Like most Puri heroes, he is an orphan and has a different and wild take on life. Monica (Ketika Sharma) is a girl Akash is deeply passionate about. What unwinds over the next couple of hours is the couple’s passionate romance generously laced with steamy scenes and countless cuddles and kisses. There is a gangster angle and a cop angle where ACP Ramya Gowarikar (Ramya Krishna) comes in and what happens next is one bizarre and inexplicable scene after another.
Performance: Akash Puri is entering the world of commercial cinema with this one but doesn’t look the part. He is too unconvincing as a gangster and doesn’t exude the menace that Puri’s gangster/heroes usually do. He looks ripe and its better if he chooses softer scripts at the moment. Ketika Sharma is there doing what is clearly expected from here. The scope for performance is rare but there’s plenty of space for bold scenes and glamour display which she does a good job at. Ramya Krishna is stuck in this strange action-romance story and still manages to do a decent job
Analysis: Even though Romantic has been directed by Anil Paduri, there’s Puri mark written all over the movie, the over-the-top dialogues, the Goa beaches, the hero who doesn’t differentiate between romance and harassment, there’s everything that you’ve seen before. While the movie has some high times, the lack of depth in characters and absence of emotional connection often makes you wonder about the director’s intentions. Apart from Akash, Ketika, and Ramya Krishna, other characters are mere props and that’s one more disadvantage for this film.
Plus Points:
Ketika Sharma
Dialogues
Pre-Interval
Minus Points:
Cliched writing
Senseless scenes
Music
Second half
Verdict: Romantic is primarily aimed at the youngsters who will be drawn by the sizzle of Ketika Sharma. Once that sizzle fizzles, there isn’t much underneath and one would be distracted by Akash’s baby looks and the loudness of the film. The know it all character is something that only a few actors can carry well enough and at this point, Akash isn’t one of them. Watch if you’re an ardent Puri fan.
