'Srikanth' review: Incredibly inspiring story undone by shallow storytelling
After HIT (2022), Rajkummar Rao has yet again become the victim of a film that fails him on almost all fronts, despite his exemplary performance and conspicuous efforts to anchor the (already drowning) ship. Based on the astounding true story of industrialist Srikanth Bolla, Srikanth painfully lacks restraint, novelty, nuance, and subtlety, and despite its positive messaging, eventually ends up extremely flavorless.
Traces the many facets of Bolla's life
Bolla, born in a small village, is called "kachra" (garbage) by the villagers since he's blind by birth and deemed unfit for survival, let alone employment or education. However, things take a sharp turn when he's admitted to a blind school, where his teacher Devika (Jyotika) becomes his lifelong mentor. The film then traces his life in India, education at MIT, and business pursuits.
It dumbs everything down for us
Everything in Srikanth, at all times, is completely in-your-face. There is no place for any understated emotions and the music must be raised to its highest decibel because what if we misunderstand or miss the point? Clearly, director Tushar Hiranandani doesn't trust his audience enough (or at all) to fathom anything, so everything must be spoonfed. This snatches away the much-needed layer of authenticity.
Narrative drowns in loud, screeching music
The film wishes to create a lump in your throat in any way possible and it doesn't leave anything up to your intelligence. From the very first scene, there's a loud background score that defines Srikanth. Happy scene? Music. Cue: Smile at the characters; melancholic scene? Music. Cue: Shed tears. This devours the film completely and it simply drowns in the loud, screeching music.
Filmmaking technique is redolent of the era gone by
Most of Srikanth's thoughts are spelled out in the form of voiceover, even though the film does not need it since the scenes contain all the information to understand the turn of events. Even worse is the movie's tendency to dramatically repeat dialogues to demonstrate that Srikanth is thoughtfully mulling them over. An overused TV tactic, it took me back to Ektaa Kapoor's serials.
No emotional connect; everything seems artificial
Scenes are staged (and executed) in a way that you can effortlessly predict their outcome at the beginning itself. All characters mouth dialogues as if reading them from a freshly delivered script or simply reading motivational quotes aloud, and everything is polished with a coating of artificiality. Eventually, in this sea of hollowness, everything feels cosmetic and the directorial choices are off-putting.
How the lack of nuance harms it
Srikanth is so eager to get brownie points by shedding light on an incredible story that it forgets to do anything...everything else. The lack of nuance means characters take a 180-degree turn after hearing a speech, and a crowd of people suddenly begins clapping for Srikanth after being surprised by his intelligence. The catch? These same people refused to help him mere minutes ago!
Supporting characters are just...there
The supporting characters in the film have a monumental part to play in Srikanth's life, and so, they should have been written with substance in the film, too. However, that is far from the case. Beyond the surface level, there is nothing you know about Devika (Jyotika), Srikanth's partner Swati (Alaya F), and his business partner Ravi (Sharad Kelkar). Nearly all are cardboard characters.
There's only so much Rao can do to save it
Coming to the only saving grace, Rao delivers yet another exceptional performance as the titular character and it's tough to find any false notes in his portrayal. Pay closer attention to the way his eyes and eyebrows twitch and how his head is mostly titled to one side. If only the film mirrored his dedication and didn't set itself up for failure.
Raises awareness about the differently abled
When Srikanth is far from being satisfactory, it gets points for how it tries to fight ableism and crusade for the differently abled. For instance, in one scene, Srikanth and his visually challenged friends go to the theater for a screening of Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007); it's such a fleeting yet strong moment that says disability shouldn't define happiness and the simple joys of life.
More on its efforts to create awareness
Srikanth raises some poignant points about what it means to be normal, and who decides what "normal" means? Studying at MIT altered Bolla's life, making us wonder how many years it will take for India to provide a life of decency to its differently abled. Beyond its commercial prospects, if the film can make us more sensitized, it would have done its job.
Can skip in theaters; watch on OTT; gets 2/5 stars
Srikanth suffers from the same problem as Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, where another remarkable true story was reduced to shreds due to a juvenile style of filmmaking. It's surprising that despite the gravity of this story, we never really feel connected to Srikanth and he is always at a distance from us. The credits begin rolling, but the gap is tragically never bridged.
