It has been a refreshing experience watching this movie. The romance, characterization is at its raw best. I am glad that the director and his team did not do anything to dial it down. The performances have been great. We all know the story, but it has not been done before in Telugu cinema. In some ways, this can be called modern Devdas with realistic dialogue.
Without spoiling; the story is about a young MBBS student with anger management issues falling in love. Arjun Reddy's character is deeply flawed. I must appreciate the director and crew steering away from the Telugu movie way of showing the lead character in a perfect light. I am glad the character is flawed. There are several instances in this 186 minute movie that shows us the flawed side of our hero. It works out for the story telling. Also in this tale, we see characters yelling swear words when under stress or anger; which does not happen in other flicks.
The physical romance couldn't be more appropriate. It's is present where necessary and only promotes story telling and emotions. Also, the story is also about a bunch of characters constantly caring and supporting Arjun Reddy despite his strong requirement for sole confinement. The sick kick friend is more than a side kick shows real spine in tense moments, also providing subtle comedy in the various situations.
The movie does not commit to one message. The grandma says "a person who wants to suffer must be left alone and that person will soon get back on his feet"; But almost all characters related to the hero (Brother, friends) always keep visiting Arjun despite Arjun yelling them to go away. It was the supporting friends and family that bring back a almost lost soul back. When Arjun loses everything, left with no money and thrown on the road; it's the brother and father who spend their money to send Arjun to exotic countries to help him get over the girl.
The movie doesn't seem 3 hour long, but definitely feels lengthy, often straining the eyes. Preethi's character is underdeveloped, but she did a decent job at that. The heroin side track was unnecessary and does not contribute much.
Overall, this is a refreshing change in Tollywood and I can see a lot of directors experimenting by not following the Telugu formulaic trend in the upcoming years.
