‘Ustaad’ Telugu movie review: Debut director Phanideep, actors Simha Koduri and Kavya Kalyanram make an impression in this overdrawn yet warm coming-of-age story of a boy and his bike – The Hindu

Within the opening sequence of the Telugu film Ustaad, written and directed by first-timer Phanideep, a younger father (Venkatesh Maha in a cameo) tells his spouse Gayathri (Anu Hasan) that you will need to give their son moments to cherish. The setting is Jadcherla in Telangana, on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The daddy pronounces moments as ‘actions’ and is charmingly corrected by his spouse who’s a instructor. The boy is fascinated by a kite flying excessive however discovers that he has a worry of heights. Can that maintain him again from dreaming? Ustaad is the story of this boy, Surya (Sri Simha Koduri), who conquers acrophobia to turn into a pilot along with his bike ‘Ustaad’ taking part in a catalyst in his journey. There’s one other love story — between Surya and Meghna (Kavya Kalyanram) — however the Surya-Ustaad story is the backbone of the movie.

Ustaad is a movie that’s conscious of its limitations of scale. It is usually conscious that its power lies in characters which can be relatable. There isn’t any glossing over on a regular basis conditions. The households, neighbourhoods, streets, and bazaars have a lived-in and close-to-real high quality. 

Phanideep unravels the story by a flashback, narrated by first officer pilot Surya to captain Joseph D’Souza (Gautham Vasudev Menon). A fleeting scene later within the movie reveals Surya’s full title as Surya Sivakumar. Maybe this was Phanideep’s approach of doffing his hat to director Gautham Menon and one in all his favorite actors, Suriya Sivakumar. 

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Director Phanideep: ‘Ustaad’ is a couple of boy, his bike and his goals

Like a couple of different Telugu movies within the final couple of years, Phanideep too chooses to set his story at a time earlier than the overdose of digital communication. He chooses the mid-2000s to point out the appeal of letters, landline telephones, and SMS so as to add heat to the Surya-Meghna romance. The 2000s setting additionally lets him tip his hat to Mani Ratnam’s Alaipayuthey (Sakhi in Telugu) by conjuring up a complete sequence during which Surya travels to Araku Valley simply to inform Meghna how a lot he loves her. The section comes throughout as cinematic moderately than as an natural trajectory of occasions, however manages to retain some appeal.

The narrative establishes that Ustaad is Surya’s past love by designing a love-at-first-sight sequence when the 19-year-old Surya first spots the bike at a scrapyard. Who ever thought a motorcycle would get a heroine-like introduction with a rain sequence? Perhaps this harks again to the director’s reminiscences of his bike and is his ode to boys and their favorite bikes. Among the best segments of Ustaad is the bike halting in the midst of nowhere and the state of affairs prompting Surya to scale the rocky terrain, unmindful of his acrophobia, and studying that he needs to overcome the skies.

The story seems easy on the floor however because the layers get peeled, it delves deeper into the mindsets of its characters. Anu Hasan is endearing as a level-headed, progressive single mom who adores her son however by no means hesitates from exhibiting him the mirror to his shortcomings. Simha is convincing, portraying the transformation of a boy susceptible to aggression to 1 who matures as much as take the tough issues in his stride. 

After Balagam, that is one other spectacular efficiency by Kavya Kalyanram. Although the romance may have benefitted from higher writing to make us empathise with the characters, Kavya makes good use of the fabric given to her and portrays a decided but susceptible younger girl with finesse. Ravindra Vijay as an alcoholic mechanic who’s Ustaad’s solely hope, and Ravi SivaTeja who performs Simha’s pal, additionally deserve a point out.

The drama loses steam after a degree and the writing resorts to cinematic overtures and handy coincidences within the closing section. Had this portion been conceived higher, it might have been a befitting finish to the coming-of-age story. Ustaad additionally feels overdrawn and will have benefitted with some trimming. 

Such missteps forestall Ustaad from hovering excessive. Nonetheless, the crux of the narrative is partaking and has moments to savour.

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