Uppena (2021)

Uppena is by no means a perfect film; however, it has given me quite a lot to think about, despite its predictability and age-old story of a romance between a girl from an honour-obsessed "upper-caste" household, and a boy from a "lower-caste" community. That the boy is Christian complicates matters a little bit more, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The movie is absolutely deranged, from start to finish. Its commitment to that level of insane and intense drama is just what I needed: after a long time, I watched a movie entirely in one sitting, despite my high levels of exhaustion. I loved how both Aasi and Bebamma were written, and how their love seemed like a natural reflection of their personalities. The way Aasi matures from a daydreamer who is content to love someone from afar into someone who is acutely aware of his responsibilities and wants to do the right thing is exactly the kind of journey I love witnessing in cinema. Similarly, the way Bebamma grows into someone who can assert her own agency in the end filled me with so much joy and pride, and of course, just seeing the two end up together was balm to my aforementioned exhausted heart.

As for the main twist, I'll be very honest: I totally did not see that coming. I didn't even suspect anything shady till about two minutes before the thing happened, which needless to say was very much in line with the "deranged" theme of the movie. I liked the way the movie handled it, especially considering how very easily it could have gone all wrong in a mass Telugu movie (no offence). I don't think the movie was necessarily trying to make any big statements about "manhood", except the one where it tried to define manhood based on what kind of person one is, but I think it's an important step forward anyway in being more inclusive towards genders that do not belong to the traditional binary. I know what I'm saying probably sounds far-fetched and idealistic, but hope is all we have, and it was refreshing and very hopeful to see a message like that. I'll be very honest again: I thought Aasi had died. Yep, that's the level of faith I have in mainstream cinema, especially after Paava Kadhaigal (2020). So I will applaud the creative choices behind Uppena, even if people find them unrealistic, over-the-top or whatever.

However, having said all of that, I do wish they had explored the fact that Aasi was Christian in a little more detail. That seemed more like a gimmick than anything else towards the end. Also, whoever was responsible for choosing the dubbing artist for VJS... kindly choose a new career. I can't begin to describe how much it pained to hear that voice, and compare it to VJS' actual one, which would have been way more effective in this type of a role. Even Krithi's dubbing was off, but nothing compared to VJS'. 

In conclusion, I hope VJS learns Telugu as soon as possible and spares us all the horror of inadequate dubbing. And that Vaisshnav keeps on choosing interesting scripts, he is for sure one Mega Kid with actual potential (and an expressive face).

PS- I still can't believe my dear friend N thought it was Varun Tej and not Vaisshnav... for weeks after watching the movie... till she got accidentally enlightened during a conversation we were having.