Irumudi Movie Review

Since 2023, Ravi Teja has delivered six back-to-back flops. He attempted script-driven films and commercial-driven scripts, but none of them helped him score a hit. On top of the flops, there was constant chatter on social media about the way the lead actresses’ characters are being designed in his movies of late. At a time when the need of the hour is to score a hit and also to change the perception of the audience about his films, Ravi Teja, teamed up with the director, Shiva Nirvana, for ‘Irumudi’, a family action drama blended with thrilling moments. Priya Bhavani Shankar, played the female lead role in the film and Baby Nakshathra, played the crucial role of the daughter. Right from the announcement to the first look posters, teaser, songs and the trailer, the film generated enough hype among the audience. After being in the news for all the right reasons in the last few days, the film was released in theatres today. Did Raviteja come up with a successful film? Did the director, Shiva Nirvana, live up to the expectations created by the teaser and trailer of the film? Did the production house, Mythri Movie Makers, score a hit film with its first film with Raviteja? How did both the Ayyappa Swamy songs, look on screen in the film? Is the film a family drama or an action drama or thriller or an intense emotional drama? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Trinath Rama Kasu Aka Trinath(Raviteja), a farmer and ardent devotee of Ayyappa Swamy in a remote village, is a caring father, loving husband and also a drunkard. He teaches his daughter, Manemma Aka Mani Kanta(Baby Nakshathra), to be fierce and asks her to tell him everything that happens in her day-to-day life. He treats every girl in the village as his daughter and always stands by them during the crisis. What challenges Trinath and his family faced due to the outspoken nature of Manemma? How did Trinath protect the girls in the village from the evil in the society? How did Trinath empower the girls in the village to be self reliant? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Raviteja’s performance in the role of Trinath Rama Kasu Aka Trinath, is the best we have seen from him in a very long time. At no point do we get to see the ‘Mass Maharaja’. All we see is the ‘Actor’ Raviteja and it was a treat to see him in an author-backed role. He came with a very subtle and yet intense performance which is sure to win the hearts of the audience. The heart and soul of the film is Baby Nakshathra. In the role of Manemma Aka Mani Kanta, she came up with a lovable performance. She delivered a very confident performance throughout the film without hitting a single wrong note.

Priya Bhavani Shankar in the role of Kaveri is first rate. As a loving, caring and at times helpless wife, she came up with a brilliant performance. During a crucial sequence in the second half, she came up with unarguably the best act of her career. Sai Kumar in a role with multiple shades made his experience count. He delivered a superb performance in the role of Guru Swamy.

Swasika in a shocking role came up with a very good performance. She looked menacing and terrifying every time she appeared on screen. Ajay Ghosh and almost all other actors in the film did justice to their roles with good performances. Irumudi is one of those films where all the actors did their parts well and helped to enhance the vision of the director to the next level.

Technicalities:

GV Prakash Kumar came up with a superb background score. His score worked very well in building the tension in the first half and the score during the emotional episodes was heart-touching. Both the songs on Ayyappa Swamy looked very good on screen. Cinematography by Vishnu Sarma is top-notch. It felt as if we were watching a Malayalam film with a lot of pleasant and picturesque visuals. His frames throughout, gave the film a very aesthetic look and feel.

Editing by Prawin Pudi was very good in the first half but his work should have been a bit better during the second hour. Production values by Mythri Movie Makers were good as always. Shiva Nirvana credited himself with Story, Screenplay, Dialogues and Direction. He did justice to all the crafts to a large extent. Let’s discuss his work in detail in the analysis section.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Socially Relevant Core Plot
2.⁠ ⁠Gripping Narration In Most Parts
3.⁠ ⁠Dialogue Writing
4.⁠ ⁠Performances
5.⁠ ⁠Two Songs & Background Score
6.⁠ ⁠Pleasant Visuals

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Predictable Drama In Parts
2.⁠ ⁠A Few Unsettling Episodes

Analysis:

A father character in the film says – Aadapilla bavishyatthuki bayame sreerama raksha(for a girl to have a good and peaceful future, she should not raise her voice against eve teasing and she should learn to adjust with social abuse) and another father character in the film says – Inti nunchi bayaludheri school ki vellinappati nunchi….malli intiki tirigi vachhe varaku…em jarigina, anni nannaku cheppali…neeku em ibbandi kaligina…nanna vunnadu…nanna chusukuntadu(you should tell everything that happened during the course of the day to your father. Especially, if you face any trouble or if anyone tries to misbehave with you, never hesitate to talk about it with your father. He will make sure to punish the people who misbehave with you). Irumudi in a nutshell is about two fathers and their two different parenting approaches. One approach is driven by social conditioning and the other approach is driven by empowering the girl child and making them self-reliant. The director Shiva Nirvana, took these two different approaches to parenting and came up with a film that touches your heart in most parts. He should be appreciated for coming up with a very socially relevant film which is both thought-provoking and entertaining.

The good thing about the film is that it does not deviate from the core point. There are no unnecessary songs over-the-top action episodes and non-sync comedy tracks. The director straightaway takes us into the world of Trinath Rama Kasu Aka Trinath and his daughter Manemma Aka Manikanta. We get to see the beautiful bond between a father and a daughter, the bonding between a loving wife and husband, and the struggles the girls in the village face while commuting to school, in the first half. All of these things were blended very well with an undercurrent of tension. The director succeeded in building the tension and making the audience sit on the edge of their seats at most parts during the first half. Shiva Nirvana came up with multiple evil characters and each of those characters is capable enough to trouble the girls in the village. But the question is – Who is the troublemaker? Who is threatening the girls in the village? Who is behind the murders of the girls in the village? For around two hours, the curiosity around these questions was built very well and then a shocking twist was revealed. Up until the twist reveal, the film engages the audience to a large extent.

Apart from the core plot, another major plus to the film is the backdrop of Ayyappa Swamy. Though it is not a devotional film, Ayyappa Swamy and Swamy maala backdrops were blended very well into the film. Both the songs on Ayyappa Swamy looked very good on screen and rightly so, there was huge applause from the audience when both the songs came up on screen. Especially, the action episode with the ‘Mallepoola Pallaki’ song in the background in the second half brought the roof down in the theatre with loud cheers from the audience. The emotional drama was enhanced further by Shiva Nirvana and team with hard-hitting, sensible and thought-provoking dialogue writing throughout the film. Especially the dialogues – Aada pillatho tappuga pravarthisthe…okadu vat tuppu reggodatadu ani bayam janallo vuntene…mana biddalu kshemamga vundagalugutharu and Naku oka balahinatha vundi…oorilo vunde aada biddalandarini naa kanna kuthurulu lage anukunta…vallalo Evariki kastam vachinna…Nenu mundu vunta ah kastanni pogottadaniki, conveys the essence of the film beautifully.

On the flip side, the proceedings after the twist reveal, were very predictable. The writing around the twist was very good but the way it was unveiled should have been a bit more gripping. The director made sure to end the film with a very good emotional block but after the twist reveal and before the emotional block in the climax, for around fifteen minutes, the film gets into a predictable zone and appeared a bit stretched. The writing around the twists was indeed shocking but that shock value did not translate fully onto the screen. Also, it is not a drawback as such but the film has a lot of disturbing content. At many places, the film leaves a lump in your throat. Yes, everything that they showed in the movie is very much happening in society but those things were a bit unsettling to watch on screen.

Overall, kudos to Raviteja and Shiva Nirvana for choosing a socially relevant subject and telling it honestly without deviating from the core point. If you are a parent of a girl child, the film will prompt you to reflect and may lead you to make some changes in your current parenting approach. Shiva Nirvana should be appreciated for coming up with such an empowering & hard-hitting film. At no point does the film get into the zone of being preachy. It is thought-provoking and yet entertaining to a large extent. Raviteja is most likely to earn a lot of respect for doing ‘Irumudi’. Let’s hope that he continues to do similar story-driven films going forward. If you are a parent, go watch the film. It will surely make you leave the theatre with a heavy heart. Especially the climax, is sure to make you teary-eyed.

Bottom line – Empowering & Engaging

Rating – 3/5