Comrade Kalyan Review

Sree Vishnu who has become a bankable hero when it comes to entertainment tried yet another comedy entertainer, Comrade Kalyan. Kona Venkat presents the film which is directed by a newcomer, Janakiram and produced by another newcomer, Krishna. The film has an interesting Naxal backdrop.
 
What is it about?

Comrade Kalyan is set in the 90s when Naxalism was at its peak. It happens in an agency area and Kalyan (Sree Vishnu) runs a theater in depleted condition, screening only R Narayana Murthy films. A girl (Mamita Nambiar) enters his life and brings him problems that puts him between Naxals and Police. What is the reason? What happens to Kalyan in the clash forms the rest of the story.  

Performances:

Sree Vishnu is effortless as Kalyan in the film. It is a role tailormade for him and he makes it special with his unique histrionics and dialogue delivery. He is one of things that make the film a better watch. Mahima Nambiar does not have any scope to perform in a love track that does not have any substance.

Comrade Kalyan has a strong support cast. We have Radhika Sarathkumar, Tom Shine Chacko, Satya, Vennela Kishore, Sudarshan, Brahmaji, Shatru, Upendra Limaye, Revanth (Bulli Raju) and others. Radhika starts loud and suddenly disappears in the second half. Even then, her screen presence is appealing. Tom Shine Chacko is under-used in a poorly written villain role. Satya shines in a couple of tracks but is still under-utilized. Vennela Kishore has got nothing in a single track. Upendra Limaye and Revanth’s tracks are cringe. Almost every character feels like poorly utilized in the film. 

Technicalities:

Janakiram Marella directs Comrade Kalyan with Bhanu and Nandu providing the story and the screenplay by Kona Venkat. The point about Naxals rehabilitation is neatly used to make an interesting concept. But then, the humor weaved around the point feels so outdated. Bhanu and Nandu, the hotshot writers of Tollywood right now are suffering from this problem. Their films appear like they have a decent point but they are struggling to write a good story around it. It is already becoming a norm.

Vijai Bulganin’s songs are forgettable and the background score also does not make an impression. Sai Sriram’s visuals are fine for the Period film. Chota K Prasad’s Editing needs to be crispier. The film still feels tedious despite its reasonable runtime. Production values by Skanda Vahana Motion Pictures LLP is adequate for a simple story like Comrade Kalyan.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Around an hour of entertainment in the first half
2.⁠ ⁠Pre-interval twist
3.⁠ ⁠Sree Vishnu’s Performance
4.⁠ ⁠Couple of Satya’s Comedy episodes

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Not-so-engaging romantic track
2.⁠ ⁠Over cooked second half with too many elements
3.⁠ ⁠Cliche climax
4.⁠ ⁠Take off of the film

Analysis:

The core point of Comrade Kalyan has good potential to become a good entertainer. Barring the initial few minutes, the entire first half and the pre-interval twist, runs on the core point of the film. If you can excuse the take-off of the film, the first half of the film will give you a satisfactory feeling of watching a decently made entertainer. Yes, the tracks used to generate the comedy aren’t new but still those tracks have enough in them to generate good laughs.

However, the real problem with the film starts in the second half. It seems like the writing team and the director tried to blend too many things together to make the film wholesome and it is where the film lost the track to an extent. The romantic track appeared very cliched. And then, Upendra Limaye and Bulli Raju’s track worked against the film. Upendra Limaye’s character in fact introduces the conflict point but the writing for his track should have been much better.

Satya’s comedy worked in a couple of places. The director and the writing team should have enhanced his character further and came up with a few more comedy blocks on him. Even the Senior Actress, Radhika’s character was written in a loud manner. The Climax twist involving Shatru was written very conveniently.

Finally, Comrade Kalyan has an entertaining one-hour in the first half and this portions are sure to work well with the audience. However, the second half gives a feeling of ‘all over the place’. You may give it a try for entertainment it offers at times. A bit more care in the writing and a bit of fine tuning in the second half, would have made the film a good watch

Bottomline: Passable with Few Laughs

Rating: 2.5/5