Bhadram might have a not-so-well-known cast and the director might be one of the latest short filmmakers to jump onto the feature film bandwagon, but the film also has a taut script and all the trappings of a good murder mystery. P. Ramesh uses his skills as a short filmmaker to deliver a thriller that keeps you guessing till the end. The dubbed version of Tamil hit Thegidi, Bhadram does not disappoint.
The film revolves around Venu (Ashok Selvan), a criminology student, who lands his first job with a detective agency in Hyderabad. On joining he is told that his primary job is shadowing and surveillance. With all the enthusiasm and passion of a beginner Venu gets onto the job and tails his subjects; clicking photographs, checking call records and pinning them onto a board where he makes key notes alongside each subject. All is going well until one day Venu is assigned his next subject Madhusree (Janani Iyer).
Despite the rule about not getting involved with a subject Venu finds himself drawn to Madhu and romance blossoms. The romantic track between the lead pair is well handled without an overdose of mush. It is so well incorporated into the plot that it seems more like a natural progression than a distraction like it happens in several other movies.
Things begin to heat up when Venu realises that the people he had been tailing all these months have all been bumped off one after the other. Worse still Madhu is next on the list and Venu must find out who is behind these killings before they can get to the love of his life.
While by the second half of the movie you know who the bad guys are the plot still holds interest and does not slacken. However, if you are looking for a racy thriller then be warned that Bhadram is nothing like it. P. Ramesh builds up the tension slowly and sustains it till the very end. That is what sets Bhadram apart from most films of its kind. What also works in its favour is the fact that the director keeps his characters believable and the plot is something one can easily relate to.
While Ashok is not a very expressive actor his track is well handled. He could have however emoted a little better at some crucial points in the film. Though Janani doesn’t have much to do in the film, she delivers a good performance. Kaali as Ashok’s friend and Jayaprakash as the cop who believes in Venu lend good support. The background score is in sync with the plot and keeps up the tempo of the film. The dubbing has been handled pretty well with the Telugu dialogues incorporated almost seamlessly. The only give away is the occasional Tamil newspaper that Venu seems to keep picking up.
BHADRAM
Cast: Ashok Selvan, Janani Iyer
Director: P. Ramesh
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Plot: When the hunter becomes the hunted
Bottomline: Worth the multiplex visit
