Bubblegum Movie Review : A romance anchored by conflicts that put the new in new-age

In more than a few instances, when Adi (Roshan Kanakala) and Janu (Maanasa Choudhary) are asked why they love the other person, they say they don't know. This is on par for the course, considering how love is one of the most irrational yet intense emotions out there. But then, Bubblegum asks a prickly question, in more subtle ways. Where do love and togetherness stand in the ambit of the individual? What kind of problems can a relationship even have, if say, the parents are okay with it? What other problems can a relationship have if money is not a problem? What problem can a relationship have, when it starts off as a casual, no-tags-attached affair but transitions into something more meaningful and official, much to the delight of the people in the relationship? Many parents don't want their children to date. Many parents, even though they don't mind their children dating, would rather that they find mates within their class if not caste. Many youngsters live in a thankless era of courtship, where they are protected from the physical consequences of casual sex, but not its emotional consequences. Surprisingly, the most common external conflicts in the world of Bubblegum simply pose a threat, before disappearing altogether. It plays out like a game between the audience and the film's writers, with the former’s predictions being proven wrong continuously. 

Director - Ravikanth Perepu

Cast - Roshan Kanakala, Maanasa Choudhary, Harsha Vardhan, Anu Hasan, Bindu Chandramouli, Jayram Eeshwar, Kiran Macha, Annanyaa Akula, Harsha Chemudu 

Adi is the son of a butcher Yadagiri (Jayram Eeshwar) and Saraswati (Bindu Chandramouli). Janu is the daughter of an upper-middle-class, hippie couple that hasn't gotten married yet (the mother runs a yoga retreat in Goa, while the father and daughter live in Hyderabad). The parents play crucial roles in the film as standalone characters. They also help etch the characters better. In the most seamless exposition scenes, you learn that Adi’s parents had an arranged marriage. In another scene, Janu is seen telling Adi that her mother is Tamil, and her dad is Telugu. To probably maintain some symmetry across such contrasting backgrounds, the writers of the film do away with siblings. You see three people here and three people there. There is also a refreshing way in which the typical arguments between a parent and a twenty-something child are treated with more nuance and maturity. Though the film starts off with Adi’s father nagging him, asking him to earn some money, he eventually calms down and becomes Adi’s friend. This dynamic might be unrealistic for some, but it is also a refreshing acknowledgement of how times have changed, about how parents are cooler than what they used to be. The meta-parallels of this story with reality are not lost on the reviewer either, considering Bubblegum is produced by Roshan’s actor parents Rajeev and Suma Kanakala.

There is a strong sense of the individual that is explored later in the film. Adi is an aspiring DJ. Janu wants to go to Turkey to pursue a degree in fashion design. Just when you dismiss these details as mere scaffolding, they foreshadow coming-of-age arcs in both the characters. For Adi, a breaking point in a relationship reignites his passion for music. We see the opposite happen for Janu, as we witness her passion towards Adi flowing at the same time her passion towards her career ebbs. The differences between the individuals are also highlighted through their lifestyles (Janu is a vegan, and Adi loves his mutton biryani). It reminded me of Kushi, where we saw an atheist and a theist in love with each other. On one hand, it comes off as mere quirks and flourishes. On the other, their mention seems inevitable, given the ever-increasing focus of the individual in modern love. 

Unlike actual bubblegum, which starts out sweet and gets progressively bland, the film takes an opposite approach. After a relatively generic first half involving a gauche stalking sequence and some lazy rich-girl stereotypes thrown in for the sake of it, the film finds its footing post-the interval. The second half is arguably more interesting, where a redemption arc takes centre stage. The film has its highs, but a few characters like Adi’s DJ boss and Maanasa’s ex-boyfriend Joel (played by Vishnu Kondur, also one of the film’s writers) stick out like a sore thumb. Roshan is charming, standing out in the portions where he is seething with rage, sadness, and vulnerability. It is an assured debut. Jayram Eeshwar, in particular, gives a memorable performance, providing a distinctly sensitive dimension to an otherwise stereotypical role, while also rocking the street Hyderabadi accent hard. 

In retrospect, it feels like incomplete love stories are a recurring theme in all of director  Ravikanth Perepu’s films so far. Kshanam had exes reunite for a mission. Krishna and His Leela showed us a guy torn between his love for two women, eventually not ending up with either. Bubblegum continues that tradition while adding a mature, optimistic spin to the transience of young love. Long story short, when life gives you bubblegum, make bubbles not troubles.