Show Time Movie Review: An uneven thriller with few surprises up its sleeve

Show Time Movie Review: For a film about how little time it takes to change the lives of an ordinary middle-class family, the Naveen Chandra starrer Show Time begins in an appropriate fashion. A bunch of grown-ups with their kids are playing Antakshari and dumb charades to spend a night of getting together. There is a sweet charm to this segment, as everyone goes awkwardly about singing a song or enacting movie titles for their teammates. The more idyllic and comforting the scene gets, the deeper chances there are for a dramatic explosion.  

Cast: Naveen Chandra, Raja Ravindra, VK Naresh, Kamakshi Bhaskarla

Director: Madhan Dhakshimoorthy

However, in Show Time, director Madhan Dhakshinashetty takes the phrase ‘slow burn’ to a whole another league. We wait the entire first half in anticipation of things heating up any moment, reaching a point of no return. However, the director spends a lot of screen time on merely setting up the premise, which could really test your patience. At 108 minutes, Show Time constantly dwindles between being a tense atmospheric thriller to being a bland narrative where things often get stagnant.

The film has a lot of potential in terms of creating a strong emotional connect with the characters. Surya (Naveen Chandra) and Shanti (Kamakshi Bhaskarla) are a happily married couple with a young daughter but are also living with the guilt of being estranged from their family. Right when they are on the cusp of making a new start with their family, an accidental crime occurs that could taint their reputation and relationships forever. However, despite the elaborate establishing of the universe in first half, you remain somewhat indifferent to the stakes at hand. 

Amidst its flailing storytelling, the film surprises you occasionally with its cinematic choices. While the background score by Shekhar Chandra is subpar and never commits to the film’s tonality, the cinematography creates an intriguing atmosphere, almost operating like another person in the room, observing these deer-caught-in-headlights characters, zooming in and out of their tense faces with a frantic pace, never letting us settle down. A large chunk of Show Time takes place within a single confined space, which adds to the claustrophobic mood. In many scenes, there are no time jumps — you follow them in real time as they walk from one room to another, observing their state-of-mind and the pesky situation they find themselves in. There’s clearly a sincere attempt to create a ticking bomb-like effect in how the events unfold, even though the intent is not consistently matched in execution. 

What also keeps the film mildly interesting is the tonal contrast between Varadarajulu (VK Naresh), the jovial lawyer figure and other characters. While Surya and Shanti are in a state of panic, fraught with a sense of threat looming over their lives, Varadarajulu is boisterous and brimming with nervous energy, which makes space for some comic relief in this otherwise intense narrative (VK Naresh in an enjoyable performance, having a lot of fun with his character). Things again get engaging when Raaja Ravindra’s power-drunk cop figure returns to the centrestage, to harrass Surya and his family. It’s this element of psychological battles and oneupmanship that keeps you interested, despite an uneven pace. Raaja Ravindra brings great conviction to these moments, making you more empathetic to Surya and his family every time he belittles them in big ways or small. Matching Raaja Ravindra is an earnest Naveen Chandra who does most of the heavylifting in terms of keeping us emotionally invested to the protagonist’s plight. 

Show Time gradually redeems itself in the final act, ending with a particularly unexpected twist that lends a new context to the use of humour earlier. And while the concept of antagonists being punished is not novel by any stretch, the idea of oppressive law enforcement officials receiving just deserts in the climactic sequence is executed in a delightfully vindictive visual. At a time when we have mainstream movies increasingly glorifying police brutality and law officials’ use of brute force as a heroic move, it’s a relief to watch a film that acknowledges that any unjust use of power and authority remains inhumane, and deserves an equal retaliation.