Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon's Bollywood film Bhediya is releasing in Telugu as Thodelu. The film's OTT partner is yet to be announced and will be announced soon and streaming will be done on OTT after the theatrical release. The film is a hilarious entertainer directed by Amar Kaushik. Let us see what it offered to movie lovers.
Thodelu aka Bhediya story is all about a youngster trying to convince the tribals in the forest to part away their lands for the construction of roads in the name of development and the mystery behind the wolf. Bhaskar (Varun Dhawan) goes to Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh to proceed ahead with his company's project by convincing the tribals in the place to agree to give away their lands in the middle of the forest. As he is emerging and successful, he experiences mysterious incidents in his life. To find out more about the mysterious incidents, the connection, and how they are related to Dr Anika (Kriti Sanon), enjoy Thodelu on the screen.
Thodelu aka Bhediya story selected by director Amar Kaushik is a mix of horror, humor, and some drama. The story is very simple and so Amar Kaushik depended on hilarious scenes. He managed to entertain movie lovers with hilarious scenes featuring Varun Dhawan, Abhishek Banerjee, and Palin Kabak. The scenes featuring the wolf and the interlinking smacked of logic. There are many flaws and when those scenes came, the intensity levels dipped.
The first half ends on an interesting note with the viewers' content with hilarious scenes and a few interesting elements. But once the narration turns serious in the second half with the director deciding to go into the crux of the story, the director lost his plot completely. Many illogical scenes appear and this highlighted the flaws in the story, script, and screenplay. Finally, the film ends proving yawning fest in the second half after the hilarious scenes in the first half.
Varun Dhawan performed his role to perfection. He showed good body language as the youngster who is out to make money and has no sentiments and then as a worried person experiencing mysterious happenings. He performed well when he transforms himself. Kriti Sanon did not have much scope to perform though she got a decent screen presence.
Abhishek Banerjee and Palin Kabak in the roles of Varun Dhawan's friends excelled in hilarious scenes. The scenes featuring them along with Varun Dhawan came out well. Deepak Dobriyal got less screen presence but he performed well. Others performed according to the roles.
Sachin – Jigar's music is ok. A couple of songs like Jungle Jungle are foot tapping and also the last song Tumkeswari featuring Shraddha Kapoor as a witch in continuation to her role in Stree appeals and captivates all. His background music is good and in sync with the story. Editing of Sanyukta Kaza could have been far better. There are many scenes that slowed the pace of the film. Production values are good.
Altogether, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon's Thodelu (Bhediya) directed by Amar Kaushik attracted the attention of all. Amar Kaushik with a slow start however entertained viewers with hilarious scenes halfway through the first half. However, the wafer-thin story with predictability undid his creative thinking. This impacted the screenplay and direction and many illogical scenes regarding viruses and wolves leave all scratching their heads. Had Amar Kaushik concentrated on strengthening the story with a few twists and turns and tightened the screenplay, Thodelu (Bhediya) could have taken off. Considering all these aspects, Cinejosh goes with a 2 rating for Thodelu (Bhediya).