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Kinnerasani Movie Review: A mystery thriller that forgets to heighten tension
The film is edgy in fits and starts in the first hour. The second half, on the other hand, descends into basicness and even succumbs to formula.
Cast: Kalyaan Dhev and others
Director: Ramana Teja
Run-Time: 127 minutes
Streaming On: ZEE5
Rating: 2/5
In 'Kinnerasani', almost all key characters have one or two special talents. Kalyaan Dhev's Venkat is a lawyer who can also double up as a quick, solution-giving investigator. Ann Sheetal's Veda has the supernatural ability to read entire thoughts by looking into a person's eyes. As far as she is concerned, eyes are not the window just to the soul but also the mind. Then there is the film's enfant terrible Jayadev, played by Ravindra Vijay, who is a gifted novelist getting to strike rich because of his creative abilities.
Writer Desharaj Saitej and director Ramana Teja, however, don't seem to be interested in building the film's potentially eclectic world. They don't capitalize on the potential of rare sensibilities around the rare characters. They strip Veda of any mystique. They make Venkat seem like he is a run-of-the-mill lover boy and a boring youngster who is a rather half-hearted lawyer. Jayadev's characterization is diluted and generic.
A serial killer is on the prowl, raring to kill any and every young woman whose name is Veda. Our female lead's name is Veda and she runs a library. She is in search of her long-missing father. She obviously faces an existential threat, but what rails her more is the trauma of a childhood tragedy. Her boyfriend Venkat tells her not to overthink when she gets panicky about some real or imagined incident (you are no boyfriend if you don't write off your girlfriend's fears in mystery thrillers/horror movies).
The first half goes into setting up the world of 'Kinnerasani' with a fair amount of focus. Even when a Circle Inspector (played by Satya Prakash) threatens to go hysterical while talking about a psychopathic killer, you tend to forgive the occasional slip-ups in the first half. Even the non-linear narration doesn't seem affected.
In the second half, though, the absence of a semblance of script intensity takes a toll. There is a love song, there is a poignant song dedicated to Venkat, and then a really underwhelming flashback (the reveal is supremely ordinary).
The creepy writer, the intelligent lawyer-boyfriend, the paranoid entrepreneur-girlfriend... these characters could have been mined to concoct an explosive, whimsical thriller. The film is edgy in fits and starts in the first hour. The second half, on the other hand, descends into basicness and even succumbs to formula.
Dinesh K Babu's cinematography and Mahati Swara Sagar's music don't heighten the tension beyond a point. The performances are able in comparison. Ravindra Vijay, especially, looks weathered and dangerous enough.
The fact that the film skipped a theatrical release and went for a direct-to-service release also underlines the shifts in the entertainment sector. Thrillers of much lesser quality used to be theatrical releases in the pre-pandemic era.
