V is the kind of film that needed better writing. Even the twists here are so predictable. This is a major misfire from filmmaker Indraganti Mohana Krishna.
V review: Nani's serial-killer thriller is all style, no substance
Cinestaan Rating
Release Date: 05 Sep 2020 / Rated: U/A / 02hr 23min
Haricharan Pudipeddi | Chennai, 05 Sep 2020 14:11 IST
V is Indraganti Mohana Krishna’s most ambitious film yet and there are no second thoughts about it. Ever since the project was announced, there was a lot riding on it, especially because it was the third union of Indraganti and Nani, a pair that has clicked in the past with two entertaining films, Ashta Chamma (2008) and Gentleman (2016).
Unfortunately, things don’t go as well for the pair this time as V, their latest collaboration, is a colossal mess with barely anything working for it. Both Nani and Indraganti seem to have stepped out of their comfort zone with V, and kudos for the intent, but both struggle to make an impact.
V opens with a riot and we are quickly introduced to ACP Adithya (Sudheer Babu). He springs into action to control the situation. What we get is a scene that is straight out of a Salman Khan film. We see Adithya going shirtless and flaunting his ripped body.
As this scene ends, the credits roll and we get to know more about what kind of man Adithya is. He is just the kind of cop you don’t want to mess with.
But for Vishnu (Nani), he is exactly the kind of cop to mess with. Vishnu, a psychotic killer (with a dark past), goes on a killing spree, leaving clues that challenge Adithya to try and stop him. Soon, we are sucked into cop versus serial killer thriller which is all style but no substance.
V is the kind of film that needed better writing. Even the twists are so predictable that you wish they came with at least some element of surprise. Instead, a lot of focus has gone into making the film look needlessly stylish. We get that it’s a big-budget film and could very well be Indraganti’s most expensive yet, but the need to make it look grand just for the sake of it doesn’t make sense. For instance, the killings are made to look gruesome because this is a story about a serial killer, but the rest of the story falls flat and doesn’t justify the violence.
V happens to be Nani’s 25th film and much as you want to praise the star for not playing safe and for taking up something so unconventional, you wish he had stuck to his strengths and done something light-hearted.
Nani desperately tries to make his character look dark, but he can’t sell it. His introduction scene is the ruthless murder of a police officer. But a couple of scenes later, we see him trying to be funny with a fellow passenger on a bus. The actor is earnest, but you feel that he is not comfortable playing someone so sinister with dark humour.
Sudheer Babu barely makes any impact in a role that had more scenes than Nani. Both Nivetha Thomas and Aditi Rao Hydari, two promising talents who have been used effectively in the past by Indraganti, are wasted in roles with no purpose.
V is a major misfire from Indraganti, whose intent to go big has failed gloriously. For Nani, who had bet a lot on this film, it will go down as a big disappointment. If only Nani had taken inspiration (in storytelling) from his last production venture HIT, a gripping investigative thriller, V would have been a far better film.
V is now available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video.