We are aware that a lot of things happen over a cup of coffee but this is some what weird. The hero of the film Ramakrishna (Shashank) offers coffee to terrorists and after giving them some gyan shoots them. A few similarities with Nenu Na Rakshasi cannot be ignored. Ramakrishna is an orphan from a village and has an insatiable desire to become a genius; he thinks a human brain is capable of a lot of constructive activity but one doesn't use it completely. The indulgent man lands in the city in search of a job and gets himself shot on the video so each and every expression of his is captured and once successful he can show it to his folks in the village. But there is a hitch, he cannot get a job as he is not a certified genius, he has no degrees. The film moves slowly in the first half but the narrative later picks up with a stranger offering him a crore and asking him to multiply it. The rest of the film is about why the stranger chose to give him the money and what he does with it.
Sadly, except for splurging on clothes the hero doesn't spend on anything worthwhile as the story completely shifts to another track. Ramakrishna is trapped in a mind game played by the stranger and it is later revealed that he is a terrorist and has implanted a computer chip in a child's body that will eventually blow up some time. The child is a stranger too and gets close to both Ramakrishna and his girlfriend Srijana (Biaenca Desai). Another similar scene of the child, the lead pair takes place in a coffee shop. The concept is interesting but it gives a déjà vu feeling; we are reminded of the mind game between the terrorist and the hero in the Hindi film Aamir . Since this is a trilingual (also in Kannada and Tamil), the junior artistes don't look native, also Suman's lip synching isn't perfect. The poor production values gives the film a B-grade look but it is the lead pair especially Shashank who carries the film entirely on his shoulders despite a complex plot and has all the gravitas for the role.
Biaenca Desai of Chalaki does a convincing job, her eyes sparkle and she looks classy for a middle class character. There is no comedy to keep the tone of the film serious save for an old woman demanding the man in the bus to play Pawan Kalyan's movie instead of Chiranjeevi's. The film should have been fast paced, the audience is left with the sense that nothing in the rather complex plot is beyond the realm of potential. Had the film been made and released seven years back it would have evoked interest, as of now it remains farfetched. A lot of lines and scenes could have been chopped making the film compact. Despite Geeta Krishna's dramatic flabbiness, the film has its moments. The camera fails to imbue scenes with an emotional immediacy, music is passable.
Koffi Bar
Cast: Shashank, Biaenca Desai, Atul Kulkarni
Direction: Geeta Krishna
Music Direction: Geeta Krishna
Genre: Thriller
Bottomline: Righteous but not right
