'Bachelor' review: GV Prakash's robotic acting, problematic plot, good comedy
There are two different tracks in GV Prakash's latest Kollywood release Bachelor. While the first track is progressive and reasons out why women are entitled to take their decisions, the other one is full of toxic masculinity and shows women as vulnerable. Just when we think that the film is taking the right route, the Sathish Selvakumar-directorial topples and derails terribly. Here's our review.
Potential story that never takes off due to bad writing
The film revolves around a group of guys from Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore, who have settled down in Bengaluru for their jobs. Prakash, who is new to the city, gets to meet women from a totally different culture. In his new world, women drink alcohol and share rooms with men. Rather than getting a cultural shock, he looks at them in awe. (Well done!)
Prakash hardly has any dialogues, his acting is horrible
Right from the beginning till the end, Prakash does nothing but blankly look at the camera. His dialogue time is maximum 30 minutes is this 2:29-hour-long movie. And whenever he spoke, he did so under his breath, with an irritatingly husky voice. We also see some dimmu dippu from him every now and then, like we see in Kamal Haasan's Vasool Raja MBBS.
Other actors carried the film on their shoulders
It was a delight to watch the leading lady Divya Bharathi. She was beautiful and elegant. And oh, wonderful costumes, lady! With her subtle yet brilliant acting, she shined brightly throughout the film. Bagavathi Perumal and Munishkanth, too, did a tremendous job. Their comedies cracked up everyone in the theater and all of us literally LOLed. Double thumbs up to them!
Strong female characterization toppled by a problematic plot
The female lead was shown as a mature and thoughtful woman. Even when the hero tried to woo her, she clearly set her boundaries and explained there was no need to romanticize all relationships with women. BUT she too fell head over heels in love with the hero. Why? Because he made her porridge when she fell sick. (Insert vigorous eye roll here)!
Here's where the film went terribly wrong
At a time when movies like Dharala Prabhu are trying to normalize impotency, this film has made a big deal out of it. There was a sequence when the hero's friends convince him to pretend to be an impotent. The moment that word was uttered, the screen froze and everyone started sweating. It was as though someone said the word "dynamite" at an airport.
Despite flaws, the film ended on a strong note
A strong female character was unnecessarily made a damsel in distress in this. The concept of narrating pregnancy and motherhood as a divine feeling is so outdated. Even with these flaws, Bachelor ended on a good note. Verdict: 2.5 stars only for Bharathi's acting, Perumal and Munishkanth's comedy tracks. Should you watch the film in theaters? I would rather wait for its OTT release.
