Don’t Trouble the Trouble Movie Review:

India’s top director SS Rajamouli said that he got emotional while watching the last 30 minutes of Don’t Trouble the Trouble. His son SS Karthikeya is the producer, while Fahadh Faasil plays the lead in this Telugu film, for the first time with this movie.

Shashank Yeleti made his directorial debut with this film, while Keeravani’s son Kala Bhairava composed the music. Arka Mediaworks, the production house behind the mighty Baahubali franchise, produced the film along with Karthikeya’s Showing Business.

With so many big names involved, expectations were naturally high. However, the actual experience is quite different. Did Fahadh make good on his Telugu debut?

Director: Shashank Yeleti

Cast: Fahadh Faasil, Ssara Palekar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Saurabh Sachdeva, Venkatesh Kakumanu, Subbaraju and others

Soori (Fahadh Faasil) is an orphan who makes money by duping people, while running an ambulance, simultaneously. He poses as a magician and stays with his friend (Venkatesh Kakumanu). Soori has to pay Rs 25 lakh to Aslam Bhai (Mahesh Manjrekar), a don from the Old City, within two days, and he is desperately looking for a way to arrange the money.

During this time, he comes across a young girl, Divya (Ssara Palekar), and her dog Snoopy. Soori hatches a plan to kidnap Divya and demands a ransom of Rs 1 crore from her parents. He plans to give Rs 25 lakh to Aslam Bhai and use the remaining money to go to Dubai and settle there.

However, Divya tells Soori that she went missing from her parents and asks him to take her back to them. Divya’s uncle Pratap (Saurabh Sachdeva) is searching for her and her parents and agrees to pay the ransom. What happens next? Who is Divya really, and what happened to her parents? What happens when Soori takes Divya back to her family? The answers to these questions form the crux of the story.

Shashank Yeleti has written a very thin story that lacks a strong conflict and logical progression. Soori, a small-time conman, gets into trouble with a local don. He tries to escape the situation by kidnapping a young girl, only to land himself in another problem. Eventually, he realises his mistake and gets into a situation where he wants to help the girl.

The story is supposed to work as an entertainer replete with plenty of emotion, but the director fails to deliver both. The film takes too long to establish Soori’s character and to explain how he gets into trouble with the local don. The story moves in a different direction after Divya enters, but even then, the narration remains slow and stretched.

The first half, which feels like a three-hour film itself, ends up with hardly any laughs or entertainment. Even after Soori discovers Divya’s identity, the story continues in an illogical and boring manner. The sequence where Soori demands the ransom and Divya’s uncle agrees to pay it is somewhat interesting, but the director fails to present the proceedings effectively.

The biggest problem is the weak writing. There is no strong conflict to keep the audience invested. Although the mystery surrounding Divya’s parents creates some curiosity, the outcome is fairly predictable. The climax is silly, artificial and illogical.

While the film was heavily promoted, all this hype surrounding the movie, the expectations were understandably high. Unfortunately, Don’t Trouble the Trouble falls far short of those expectations.

The film features Malayalam, Marathi and Hindi actors in important roles, and at times, it feels more like a dubbed film than a Telugu film. While the actors are talented in their respective industries, emotional connectivity becomes especially important when performers work in another language, and that aspect does not work here. Shashank Yeleti had Fahadh Faasil at his disposal and should have created some memorable moments around him, but the actor is not utilised effectively.

Fahadh Faasil does his best with the role, but the character does not suit him and offers little. He has clearly put in considerable effort to deliver his Telugu dialogues, which is commendable. However, Soori’s character requires strong punch dialogues and comic timing, and Fahadh struggles to make them work, partly because of the language and partly because the character itself is not well designed.

Ssara Palekar is the highlight of the film and delivers a commendable performance. However, the emotional scenes between her and Fahadh do not have the intended impact. Venkatesh Kakumanu and Subbaraju play their parts well, while the supporting cast does what is required.

Technically, the film looks good, with high production values. The team has shot the movie in several real locations, and those portions look neat. The cinematography is good, while the graphics are of a decent standard. Kala Bhairava’s music, however, is not up to the mark, and the songs or background score fail to create much impact.

Don’t Trouble the Trouble arrived with huge hype because some of the biggest names from the Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil industries were associated with it. However, the film falls well short of expectations. Shashank Yeleti’s writing is weak, the narration is sluggish and illogical, and the climax fails to make an impact. Apart from a few scenes here and there, there is little to engage the audience. If you decide to watch this film, the trouble may ultimately be yours.