Nithin scores in ‘Andhadhun’ Telugu remake, which leaves no room for ambiguity at the end
Director Merlapaka Gandhi and actor Nitin, whose home production has supported artist, deserves a pat on the back for trying to recreate writer-director Sriram Raghavan’s brilliant black comedy Andhadhun, in Telugu. If you’ve seen the original, you can agree that it takes guts to even try to match that vision.
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One could argue that when the original is available to watch digitally, do we need a remake that takes a direct-to-digital route (Disney + Hotstar)? But for trade barriers during the pandemic, artist To take the story into new pockets of the Telugu film audience, there would have been a theatrical release. This is a completely different issue.
artist
- Cast: Nitin, Tamannaah Bhatia, Nabha Natsho
- Direction: Merlapaka Gandhi
- Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar
as it stands, artist is faithful to its source material, changing it only lightly. Still it falls short. Remember the horrifying humor you come across as the pianist, supposedly blind, is privy to the events in an old actor’s home after a murder? A lot depends on how the sequence is choreographed, with Anupam Tabu playing a big role, helped by Ayushmann Khurrana and Manav Vij. in order artist Follows a similar pattern but the effect is far from the same.
artist Set in Goa, where pianist Arun (Nithin) tries to create music with utmost attention, drama-acting, to be visually impaired to avoid distractions. He falls in love with Sophie (Nabha Natesh), whose father runs a restaurant. Arun hopes that his music can help turn the restaurant’s fortunes around. Here she meets the yesteryear actor Mohan (VK Naresh). An invitation to play a private concert at Mohan’s house changes everything for Arun.
A picture of ‘Ustad’ Ilaiyaraaja is prominently placed on Arun’s piano. It is also apt that the older actor’s character is named Mohan, perhaps alluding to the 80s when Ilaiyaraaja’s music helped ‘Mike’ Mohan deliver superhit Tamil films. VK Naresh also has his shortcomings in his earlier Telugu hits. Tamannaah plays the role of Simran, the sultry young wife of Mohan. Jishu Sengupta is a police officer and Ananya is the daughter of Nagalla Mohan.
The moral compass skews for most characters like Arun, Simran, Bobby or later the organ-sparing doctor (Harshavardhan), the lottery ticket vendor (Mangli) and the auto driver Murali (Racha Ravi). The one who is most apologetic about his deeds, driven only by a living instinct, is Simran.
Nithin seems to have enjoyed being a part of a story that is different from mainstream Telugu films, and Nabha is comfortable playing the girlfriend. It’s not a complicated part and she does well. It is commendable that Tamannaah has dubbed herself, but her hardworking Telugu language doesn’t cut it. I wish she was not Tabu.
The biggest tweak from the original comes on the fag end. AndhadhunThe end of the year gave rise to several theories. Sriram Raghavan had said that the intention was to leave it open to interpretation. Merlapaka Gandhi, however, leaves no room for ambiguity.
for the spectators Andhadhun, artist Might be a bit heavy. For others, there may be some chew, given that Telugu cinema often does not detect such stories. However, the bigger issue is about the remake. In recent years, Uma Maheshwar Ugra Rupasya And ivaru stood out by cleverly reinterpreting original stories. Most other frame-to-frame remakes seem unnecessary in the digital age when original titles are readily available for viewing.
(artist Disney+ stream on Hotstar)
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