Srikanth Movie Review: Rajkummar Rao is Sincere in This Gallery-Pleasing Yet Shallow Biopic (LatestLY Exclusive)

Srikanth Movie Review: Srikanth, as you are likely aware, is the Bollywood biopic depicting the inspiring journey of Srikanth Bolla, a visually-impaired, remarkably successful industrialist. Directed by Tushar Hiranandani and starring Rajkummar Rao in the lead role, the trailer for Srikanth had already captivated audiences with the promise of a motivational and uplifting narrative. Like many biopics within Bollywood, Srikanth seeks to exalt its protagonist to the status of a hero, a feat it largely achieves. However, beyond a third-act conflict (which I will delve into shortly), the biopic, much like its Bollywood counterparts, tends to idolise Mr Bolla to such an extent that it feels diabetic-saccharine. Srikanth: Rajkummar Rao Learns ‘Never Give Up’ Valuable Lessons From Srikanth Bolla for the Film.

Srikanth covers its protagonist's life-journey, right from the time he was born and was nearly killed by his father, on the prodding of the villagers, for being born blind. The mother's tears and the promise of a second child come to the rescue and give the newborn another chance to live.

Watch the Trailer of Srikanth:

As a child, Srikanth is shown to be brilliant, but he also gets bullied by his schoolmates. His parents admit him to the special school for the visually impaired in the city where Srikanth finds the most important person in his life, Devika (Jyotika), his teacher and mentor, who sees the prodigy in him.

The narrative unfolds as Srikanth navigates hurdles in school and college and comes up top, and eventually, he embarks on the path of entrepreneurship. Amidst his endeavours, he finds companionship and love in Swathi (Alaya F), a medical student who admires his determination.

Srikanth's Feel-Good Appeal

I am all for feel-good films if done right, and Srikanth starts off well on that path. The film establishes his mischievous nature, his brilliance and his challenges in a manner that pleases the cheerleader in us. The attempt, of course, usually results in kitschiness, like the courtroom sequences where Srikanth and Devika take on the education system when they refuse to offer him a seat in Science.

It's Cinema, and Cinema doesn't always need to take the grounded route while creating a more appealing scene. So, I didn't mind when Srikanth made his lawyer utterly redundant by offering his own 'logical' reasoning to whatever arguments were made against his case. If you want to clap, you can clap!

Too Much Feel-Goodness Is Injurious to the Script

Later, when Srikanth is denied seating on his flight to Boston, he stages an audience-winning coup. This time, his stunt felt a tad excessive. This is what happens when this trope becomes repetitive ahead, as with the borrowed "Papa Kehte Hai" song. The first time it was played during the opening credits, I smiled. However, by the song's third recurrence in the background, I had to ask when Srikanth's father had shared those ambitions about his son on screen (in fact, he just comes and goes).

Furthermore, every problem that arises in Srikanth's life, every conflict, seems to be resolved through a lecture from a confidant. Whether it's Swathi or Devika, both characters' arcs are intricately tied to him and they show little development beyond that. This is disappointing, especially considering Jyotika was so, so good in the role. The same can be said for Sharad Kelkar, who brings an amiable presence to Ravi Mantha, Srikanth's investor and business associate, but you don't understand his aspirations beyond Srikanth's.

Srikanth's Twilight Zone

Ravi Mantha inadvertently becomes the catalyst for Srikanth's moral decline, which, I admit, was a welcome departure from the film's till-then idolising of its protagonist. I am never in denial that Srikanth Bolla's life and accomplishments are undeniably inspiring and aspirational. However, why do biopics invariably veer towards the glorification of such real-life figures to the extent that they fail to portray their subjects as sufficiently human? This is precisely why the third act, where Srikanth succumbs to his God Complex, intrigued me, regardless of the contrived circumstances that led to it.

Unfortunately, even Srikanth's vanity is portrayed in very broad strokes, with him explicitly narrating his inner thoughts, depriving viewers of the opportunity to interpret them independently. Despite all this, his moral decline is abruptly halted with a single reprimand, and he returns to his normal self. His flaws are also glorified. When Ravi urges Srikanth to apologise to someone, Devika justifies his reluctance, stating that Srikanth was never taught to apologise, as he was only taught to fight or flee—and he's certainly not one to flee. While this sentiment is admirable on paper, apologising doesn't equate to running away. Srikanth Movie Review: Critics Laud Rajkummar Rao’s Performance in the ‘Well-Crafted’ Biopic by Director Tushar Hiranandani.

(SPOILER ALERT) The biopic concludes with a scene where Srikanth delivers a lengthy speech at a business award ceremony after winning in a special category. He expresses gratitude to the people in his life, cracks jokes, shares his love story, and then declines the award, stating that it belongs to a special category. He insists on competing and winning in the regular category instead. Once again, these sentiments are commendable, but one can't help but wonder if this film would have been made if Bolla's visual impairment hadn't been a factor. Nearly every dialogue in the film revolves around references to sight or contains motivational messages about 'vision', so that's not helping the case either...

A Sincere Rajkummar Rao

As for Rajkummar Rao, his portrayal is sincere and endearing, which suits the movie's interpretation of the character perfectly. While he initially feels out of place playing teenage Srikanth age-wise, Rao compensates with his cheerful performance, maintaining the same quality throughout. In the third act, I could sense the actor's challenge in maintaining the 'visually impaired' persona while struggling to embody the personality shift induced by vanity. Nevertheless, it remains a remarkably pleasant performance.

Final Thoughts on Srikanth

Rajkummar Rao is endearing as the protagonist, with Jyotika and Sharad Kelkar also delivering credible support in the casting. The film boasts feel-good moments that will resonate with family audiences. However, Srikanth falls into the common trap of biopics, excessively praising its central character to the point where the narrative and even the character feel one-dimensional. Even a morally 'dark' third-act twist fails to salvage the shallow treatment provided here. The movie venerates the admirable Srikanth Bolla but struggles to humanise him effectively.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 10, 2024 03:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).