Movie Review: Slum Dog Husband

Slum Dog Husband comes from the producer Appi Reddy who earlier made films like George Reddy. The film marks the directorial debut of Puri Jagannadh’s assistant AR Sreedhar. These are enough to expect a decent movie. However, the film gives a rude shock in cinemas. Let’s find out where it went wrong.

What is it about?

Laxman aka Lacchi is a thopu in Parsigutta who cares for his ijjat (respect). He is a happy-go-lucky person who is into small-business. He loves Mounica (Pranavi Manukonda), err read as lust. Both the families accept their love (lust) and approve their marriage. Neither Lacchi’s family nor Mounica’s family know about their birth timings and horoscopes. The purohit scares Lacchi’s family and Mounica’s family about the death of a family member if the wedding takes place. The pujari’s advice is to marry a tree or dog. Finally, Lacchi is convinced to marry a dog called Baby. The world of Lacchi comes crashing down. His proposed marriage with Mounica gets into trouble when the dog Baby’s father files a case in court against Lachi demanding alimony. How Lacchi deals with this and whether he ends up marrying Mounica or not forms the crux of the story.

Performances

Sanjay Rao has failed to entertain as Lacchi. Acting-wise, he needs to improve a lot. He can’t pull off the film anywhere. Pranavi Manukonda looks good on screen. But she gets to play a role that is badly written. It is better for her to avoid such characters, even if it is a female lead. She dances well for songs. Yadamma Raju is a typical hero’s friend. Only a few dialogues and Telangana accent are good. But his character has a twist. Vennela Kishore’s voice for the dog doesn’t add much value. Comedian Ali is seen in a guest appearance in the jail to whom the story is narrated. Actors Sapthagiri and Brahmaji played lawyers David and Salman. Both these comedians are wasted. Muralidhar Goud is alright. But scenes of parents in adult comedy didn’t work much. None of the characters has the spark to hook audiences to the seats.

Technicalities

It is the wafer-thin point of an ordinary man struggling to get divorce from his first wife, a dog. The writing and execution suffers to the core. The songs and background score is loud. Bheems failed to recreate the Dhamaka magic. The retro song ‘Mera Chote Dil’ is a good one though. None of the technical aspects work in the film’s favour.

Highlights

Concept & Twist

Drawbacks

Writing & Direction
Adult Comedy & Music

Analysis

Movies based on dogs or pets aren’t new. There are serious, emotional and comedy movies based on pets that were made earlier. Recent Kannada movie 777 Charlie with Rakshit Shetty has garnered critical acclaim. For example, Rajendrudu Gajendrudu has an elephant as the main character. Several films based on pets were attempted and they scored well. But Slum Dog Husband is totally different and worlds apart from them. This falls into absurd comedy. The emotional bond between the lead character Lacchi (Sanjay) and dog Baby wasn’t established. This is where the film failed miserably. There are no sufficient scenes for a dog to establish such a bond.

The adult comedy is in very bad taste. There is always a thin line when it comes to the comedy genre. It is a double-edged sword and needs to be handled appropriately. Here in Slum Dog Husband, the film goes haywire. Director Sreedhar miserably failed in generating good humour. Parents talk during the match-making process, it goes overboard. The court-room scenes lack gravity. They don’t add any value to the film. Some scenes test the patience. Audiences squirm in seats and are forced to check their mobile phones.

Towards the end of the film, the main twist is revealed. This is interesting. But it is already too late by now. The film ends up as a huge let down on all counts. Heroine Pranavi is the only blessing in disguise. She steals the show in this badly-conceived film. Some dialogues are good and evoke laughs. If you love pets, just take them out or adopt some. Slum Dog Husband fails to entertain. Beware of this dog! It just bites and hurts.

Verdict: Beware of This Slum Dog!

Rating: 1.5/5

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