Ego Review: Devoid of highs

You may have seen many films in the past few years which show the lead pair engage in a few bets, hate each other, the protagonist teasing the heroine to tears before having her swoon in his love and together they fight against all the odds to lead a happy life. Looks like director RV Subrahmanyam has been heavily inspired by films like Varasudu, Akkadammayi Ikkadabbayi and Aanandam. He's added his own bit of story, spiced it up with entertainment, conceptualised a love track, one out-of-the-blue twist and a happy ending for his latest outing Ego.

Director: RV Subrahmanyam
Cast: Aashish Raj, Simran Sharma, Rao Ramesh, Ajay

Indu (Simran Sharma) and Gopi (Aashish Raj), who live in a village, share a strong animosity. They don’t spare an opportunity to exchange harsh words and channel their energy to humiliate each other. So, the first hour of the film is all about how the duo with their gang of friends are constantly at loggerheads to satisfy their bloated egos.

Director RV Subrahmanyam is not content with telling the basic story. With double entendre-laced comedy and uninspired acting, there are hardly any moments in the first hour which hold our interest. To be honest, the audience wonders what the director is trying to convey in the first place. I must say, it’ll take nerves of steel to sit through the first hour of the film. The overlong and meandering mess of a story has been penned by the director himself, who has come up with an unimaginative, predictable and boring storyline.

About 15 minutes before the interval, there is a twist in the story which isn't surprising at all. The sudden shift in emotions from the duo, who bite each other’s heads off for most of the time appears strange. It’s one of the most inept emotional scenes where the two list out all the reasons why they hate each other, only to admit that they are actually in love.

The contrasting characters of the lead actors would have made for an engaging film, but, some silly gags, a few songs and endless action sequences make it an exhausting affair.

The director keeps trying to bring in a twist at regular intervals, but his attempts to squeeze millions of ideas don't do the film any favours. The storytelling keeps getting exaggerated till the climax arrives. The climax stands out and is the only saving grace. Otherwise, till the introduction of Rao Ramesh and Ajay’s characters, things just keep going awry.

Aashish Raj and Simran play their parts with sincerity but there’s little to remember. Prudhvi, Shakalaka Shankar, Chammak Chandra and Posani’s comedy provides some hearty laughs. Rao Ramesh and Ajay stand out. Other actors fail to rise above the flawed script.

Sai Kartheek makes a mark with his catchy tunes and his background score passes the muster. Shreya Ghoshal’s Emo idivarakemo’s lyric is melodic.  

Ego is a film that is devoid of highs. Sure, there may be takers for this story, but the audience definitely deserves better.