Itlu Arjuna Movie Review

Itlu Arjuna introduces a newcomer Aniesh, son of a Real-Estate Tycoon, A Mahesh Reddy. Several Big Stars have come together to promote the young lad and the film due to his connections making the film one of the most talked about debut films in recent times. Director Venky Kudumula has directed Itlu Arjuna which has music by Thaman and happening beauty Anaswara Rajan as the heroine. Let us see how the movie turned out to be!

What is the Movie About?

Arjun (Aniesh) is a dumb young lad who is into robberies. He gets arrested in his childhood and later resides in an apartment where the heroine (Anaswara Rajan) also resides. He develops a strong crush for her and parallelly, there is a Hawala transaction of 1000 Crore happening in Jaisalmer. A gang and police are after a pendrive which finishes the deal. The lead pair unexpectedly finds themselves in the mess. What happens later in the story forms the rest.

Performances:

Aniesh gets a challenging character for his first film. Not very often, we see the lead hero playing dumb throughout the film. But then, it does not hinder the film in anyway. The writing should also be given credit for that. Aniesh also looked very confident in his first outing. He danced well and also did fights well. There is a degree of ease in his body language which makes him a good prospect for the future. It is easily one of the very good debut performances in recent years.

Anaswara Rajan is cuteness overloaded in the film. She played an innocent girl bordering dumbness and it also added to the cuteness. Some portions in the first half worked because of the chemistry between them. Vennela Kishore plays a sizeable role that is mostly concentrated in the first half and he managed some good laughs here and there. Mukesh Rishi is alright in a limited character as the main villain. The other artists who played various characters in the film are alright.

Technicalities:

Mahesh Uppala has written and directed Itlu Arjuna. Raakaasa director Manasa Sharma has given additional screenplay for the film. The movie is a mixed bag in the Writing department. The idea of mixing a love story and crime thriller is interesting and appears unique for the newomer. But then, the writing could have been better. The visuals by Raja Mahadevan are superb. Thaman’s background score is fresh and is the heart of the film. His work enhanced the impact of many scenes. A couple of songs are chartbusters and they also worked on the screen. Koti K’s editing should have been crisp towards the climax portions of the film. Tjhe VFX is also a bit tacky in these portions. The Production Values of What Next Entertainments are very lavish for a newcomer.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Aniesh’s Confidence Debut
2.⁠ ⁠Thaman’s Music
3.⁠ ⁠Pre-Interval Action Episode
4.⁠ ⁠A Few Comedy Episodes

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Predictable Plot
2.⁠ ⁠Convenient Twists
3.⁠ ⁠A Bit Dragged Climax

Analysis:

It’s Arjuna as a launch vehicle; it got many things right. The new boy in the town did not opt for a run-of-the-mill script or role. The intent to experiment was clearly to be seen with the disability(dumb) the lead actor deals with and in the way the crime and romance elements blended. The film was visually rich and the background score further enhanced the viewing experience. The first half of the film was largely engaging with a few comedy portions and with a good chemistry between the lead pair.

The director takes no time in going into the story. The conflict is revealed in the opening sequence as well. The interest around the conflict is built just before the interval and the interval sequence is very beautifully designed. The second half is where the movie has got many loose-ends. Some of the twists work well. However, the episode involving Mukesh Rishi follows a rather dated pattern. The sequence where the hero enters Mukesh Rishi’s den and manages to return could have been written with a bit more ingenuity.

The idea of ​​using a whistle to bypass a mobile phone’s security pattern was well-executed—moments like these truly showcase a director’s creativity, and there should have been more of them. When the hero has a serious disability, we expect him to solve the issue with remarkable intelligence. The narrative could have leaned even more heavily into such “mind games” but it is not the case. The climax feels like stretched beyond a point. On the other hand, the fate of the one thousand crores in the climax is left unresolved; it would have been better if that had been addressed and justified.

Finally, Itlu Arjuna is a Good Launch Vehicle for the newcomer. It has many ingredients working in its favor to make the film a watchable material. It entertains for the most part. A little more effort in the writing department would have given a complete feeling for the film. But even with those limitations, the movie largely works for a decent one-time watch.

Bottomline: A Decent Watch!

Rating: 2.75/5