Darling Movie Review: A Patience Test
The makers of “Hanu Man,” one of the biggest hits in Indian cinema this year, spared little expense to advertise their newest picture, “Darling.” Even though it was a relatively low-budget movie for them, they did everything possible to create hype.
Let’s examine its advantages and disadvantages.
Story: After seeing his fiancée flee from their wedding, travel planner Raghav (Priyadarshi) chooses to take his own life. He is about to perform this act when Anandhi (Nabha Natesh) appears and speaks positively to him, stopping him.
They tie the knot quickly and without much thought. However, he now has a problem because she has multiple personality disorder, which keeps him from being able to fully commit to each of her unique personalities.
How is Raghav going to handle this? Who is Anandhi, really?
Performances by Artists: Priyadarshi has proven to be adept at portraying both comic and important roles. His body language is ideal for the part he plays in this movie, and he does a credible job acting the part once more.
Unfortunately, Nabha Natesh, who has to play five different characters, is not the right person for this part. In other identities, such as the feminist Jhansi, her performance is wholly inappropriate.
The performances of Priyadarshi’s father, Krishna Teja, and Vishnu, who represent Priyadarshi’s friends, are each performed in a distinctive way by Muralidhar Goud.
Ananya Nagalla gives a good performance in a supporting role.
Technical Mastery:
The music of Vivek Sagar is indistinguishable. There is no trace of a tight budget thanks to the visually stunning production design and cinematography. But there are significant flaws in the screenplay’s writing and editing.
Examination
In order to explain the female protagonist’s multiple personality disorder, the primary characters in the movie talk about films like “Aparichitudu”. But none of this is essential. The idea of multiple personality disorder, or split personality, is not new to our audiences; just look at how popular films like “Aparichitudu” and “Chandramukhi” depict it.
Initially, “Darling” uses this multiple personality disorder for humorous effect. There’s a long scene where the protagonist’s life is unpleasant due to Nabha’s five various egos. She slaps him hard, meaning to make him laugh, every time he asks for a kiss.
Later on, this condition is employed to discuss sexual abuse and foster a romantic relationship between Nabha and Priyadarshi. After the interval, though, the movie introduces too many additional components and loses focus.
The movie totally veers off course as it comes to an end. Given the events that have led up to it, the story surprise that concludes with the heroine’s multiple personality disorder seems illogical and absurd.
The director seems to have made an effort to impose a link between the protagonist and the idea of “Paris,” which led to a modified and unclear story twist. After the revelation of the last twist, the first story about an uncle torturing a young girl seems pointless.
Obviously, the producers ignored important aspects, and the director lost sight of the desired story.
Even if there are some funny scenes in the movie, it is clear that the comedy writing might have been stronger. The last hour’s long scene at a saree shop is tiresome. Another silly scenario is when Priyadarshi gives the parents a marriage advice lecture. In particular, the last hour of the movie is a jumble.
If Nabha Natesh had been a better actress, the different characters she played could have been more bearable.
“Darling” is disorganised and dull all around. The movie lacks focus and turns into a boring watch after a respectable start and a few humorous scenes. It appears that the director was not entirely clear about the point he was trying to make.
Movie: Darling
ibomma Rating: 1.75/5
Cast: Priyadarshi, Nabha Natesh, Ananya Nagalla, Brahmanandham, Moin, Shiva Reddy, Muralidhar Goud, Krishna Teja, Vishnu, and others
Dialogue: Sai Hemanth
Music: Vivek Sagar
DOP: Naresh Ramadurai
Editor: Pradeep E Raghav
Production Designer: Gandhi Nadikudikar
Producer: K Niranjan Reddy and Chaitanya Reddy
Written and Directed by: Aswin Raam
Release Date: July 19, 2024
