Comrade Kalyan Movie Review:
Naxalism is a serious subject. Over the years, governments have introduced rehabilitation packages for Naxalites who leave the revolutionary movement and want to return to mainstream society. These packages offer financial incentives and other assistance to help them lead a normal life. At the same time, the police keep a close eye on them. Director Janakiram Marella has chosen this serious subject for his film, with Sree Vishnu playing the lead role, but has presented it as a comedy. Comrade Kalyan is about an ordinary man named Kalyan who pretends to be a Naxalite (the film avoids using the word and instead refers to them as Anna) and the troubles he faces as a result.
Towards the end, the director tries to convey a message that both the police and Naxalites need to rethink their strategies. However, many scenes are illogical, and it is a classic case of too little too late.
Director: Janakiram Marella
Cast: Sree Vishnu, Mahima Nambiar, Satya, Radikaa Sarathkumar, Muralidhar Goud, Sudarshan and others
The story takes place in the 1990s, near the Andhra Pradesh–Odisha border. Kalyan (Sree Vishnu) is an ordinary man who runs a cinema theatre on lease. The Naxalite movement is quite active in the region at the time, and Kalyan is a fan of R Narayanamurthy's revolutionary films. His mother (Radikaa Sarathkumar) is a Balakrishna fan and ends up at a police station over a minor issue.
An Odisha girl named Sithara Devi (Mahima Nambiar) comes to Kalyan's mother's rescue when she suddenly falls ill. From then on, Kalyan falls in love with Sithara. Her family owes Rs 5 lakh to someone but can't repay the debt. When Kalyan learns about their financial troubles, he decides to help them by paying off the debt. The director stretches this romantic track for quite some time. There is no strong conflict in this portion, but Kalyan eventually decides to pose as a Naxalite to help his love interest's family since the government offers cash incentives and rehabilitation benefits to surrendered Naxalites.
Once he joins the Dalam, things become increasingly illogical. The director tries to turn several situations into comedy, even though the subject itself demands a more serious approach. If you want to make a comedy film, you need to build the story around comedy rather than force humour into situations simply for the sake of getting laughs. Here, Janakiram forces several comedy scenes involving Sree Vishnu and Satya, as well as Vennela Kishore and the minister.
The first half mainly focuses on Kalyan's life and his attempts to impress Sithara, including his efforts to communicate with her in Telugu. Although the story is set in the 1990s, the director throws in references to recent films, including the cricket shot from Peddi, the crow from The Paradise and Chiranjeevi's Acharya. These references feel out of place in a story set in that period.
Kona Venkat has penned the screenplay, and the comedy episode involving Vennela Kishore, the minister, Sree Vishnu and Satya feels very much like his style of writing. The climax comedy sequence involving the police, Sree Vishnu and the Naxalite group also follows the same approach. The director tries to justify the events by delivering a message towards the end, but the writing leading up to it is not convincing enough.
That said, the film does manage to generate a few laughs here and there through the characters played by Satya, Sudarshan and Sree Vishnu. However, the comedy involving the minister and Vennela Kishore is cringe-worthy and often in poor taste. Instead of enhancing the overall narrative, these scenes make the film feel forced.
Sree Vishnu is good with punchlines and one-liners. Mahima Nambiar makes her Telugu debut in this film, but her character doesn't get much importance. Satya and Sudarshan manage to generate a few laughs, and both comedians get meaty roles.
Radikaa Sarathkumar is good as Kalyan's mother. Muralidhar Goud appears in a familiar role, but his character gets little prominence and doesn't seem entirely suited to it.
Vijay Bulganin has composed the music. A couple of songs are good, but the background score is just average. The dialogues are entertaining in places, while Sai Sriram's cinematography is good, capturing the greenery and village atmosphere effectively.
Comrade Kalyan provides a few laughs here and there, but Janakiram Marella fails to build a convincing comedy around a serious subject. Instead of developing a strong comic narrative, he relies on forced comedy and illogical scenes. In the end, weak comic writing dilutes a serious subject.