Paagal Movie Review: A muddled love story where romance is a farce

Title: Paagal 

Cast: Vishwak Sen, Nivetha Pethuraj and others

Director: Naressh Kuppili

Rating: 2

When he was a child, Prem had a doting mother and she was his world. Before succumbing to cancer, she told Prem that loving someone sincerely will surely be rewarded with reciprocal love that is equally honest. Prem took a hyper-literal meaning of her innocuous words and embarked on the mission of saying 'I love you' to every other girl in the city. Had his mother lived a long life, she would have asked him not to behave like a man-child in the name of finding true love. Since cancer killed her and this reviewer had to go through the ordeal of watching Prem's problematic tantrums for the next two hours, how about becoming an anti-cancer activist for once?

Vishwak Sen plays the man-child whose misguided hysteria the title of the film celebrates. A woman (Megha Lekha) boots him out for watching melodramatic TV serials. Another one (Simran Chaudhary) has got some other plans. A third one, whom he loves because she is "ugly", is used as a ruse to hurl body-shaming and racist comedy at the audience. As if all the 'paagal-ness' is not enough, the screenplay takes to eccentric comedy (involving Murali Sharma, a politician), followed by a half-baked love track involving Theera (Nivetha Pethuraj). 

The biggest flaw in 'Paagal' is that it has a very unevolved idea of love at its core. As such, the romantic scenes in the supposedly substantial second half rattle your heart and agitate your mind at once. We start questioning whether Prem actually means the things he is saying. It's because the film struggles to swim past the character's muddled idea of love. If you come across someone like Prem, please take to Twitter, tag the Chief Minister and request the government to get him married off at a mass wedding. Trust us, he won't mind it. 

The love story would still have struck a few right notes had Theera come across as a character with some depth. Her chemistry with Prem is a non-starter. Had it not been for the good songs (thanks to composer Radhan), the second half would have looked like a showreel of not one but two Paagals. It is as if Prem and Theera are telling the audience, 'We are neck-deep in love, so please indulge us'. There comes a revelation in the pre-climax phase and it makes the love story look all the more superficial. 

When Prem beseeches Theera to listen to his heart, we are reminded of familiar scenes from the romantic dramas of a bygone era. A lot of nimble elements have to come together to make such potentially splendid scenes work. 

Vishwak Sen performs with conviction. Like Kiran Abbavaram in last week's 'SR Kalyanamandampam', he rises above the poor script. More than the girls, it's Murali Sharma who has better chemistry with him. The visuals are good, while the songs are the best aspect of 'Paagal'.

ALSO READ: Paagal Trailer: Vishwak Sen starrer promises a fun ride with a good dose of emotions & romance