Suhas has become one of the bankable actors in Tollywood. He is now out with his latest film, Prasanna Vadanam, based on a man with face blindness. Directed by Arjun YK, let’s review the film here.

Plot

Surya(Suhas), a Radio RJ meets with a terrible accident and ends up with a rare disease named Prosopagnosia. Due to this, he gets face blindness and cannot identify the faces of people around him. One fine day, he witnesses the brutal murder of a young girl. He informs the cops but instead gets embroiled in the case. Left with no choice; he approaches top cop Vaidehi(Rashi Singh) for assistance. But things turn on its head and multiple cases are now filed on Surya. The rest of the story is about how Surya proves his innocence with the help of his girlfriend Adhya(Payal Radhakrishna).

Performances

Suhas is known for his versatile characters gets a tailor-made role in Prasanna Vadanam. As he has a unique disease, the scope for him to perform uniquely is high in the film, and Suhas lives up to all the expectations. His performance in the second half is highly impressive and arrests you till the end. Nithin Prasanna, who was last seen in Ambajipeta Marriage Band, delivers yet another bankable performance. The various shades he showcased in his performance were impressive. Rashi Singh, who played the top cop, was decent, but she should have worked more on the expressions in the latter part of the film. Viva Harsha was okay, and so was Payal Radhakrishna.

Technicalities

Vijay Bulganin composed the music for the film, and his songs are quite ordinary. None of the songs register with the audience, but the background score is quite impressive. The sound design neatly elevates the proceedings and is composed in a stylish manner. The camera work is so-so and one cannot complain keeping the budget in mind. The production values are also okay, and there is nothing much to rave about. The editing is perfect as the narrative is crisp and to the point.

Thumbs Up

Suhas
Interval twist

Thumbs Down

Lag in the second half
Songs
Flashback

Analysis

Making thrillers is one of the biggest tasks for any writer-director. But newcomer Arjun YK has chosen a story with face blindness which is something new for Telugu cinema. So, this itself makes things interesting for Prasanna Vadanam. Prasanna Vadanam starts on a very interesting note, and the best part is that director Arjun does not waste any time entering the conflict point in the film.

Once the heroine is introduced, the love track gets a bit boring, but that too passes, and things become interesting for the audience. Once the crime is committed, the concentration shifts towards the cops and how they will deal with the case. But the way director Arjun brings in the half-time twist is superb and unexpected. As the director reveals the man behind the murder, things become a bit difficult for the director to handle the proceedings.

This is when the proceedings become slow and a bit dull. Also, the reason behind the motive of the murderer is not showcased convincingly. Also, the way Suhas behaves in the second half looks a bit odd. As he has face blindness, the director could have added more drama and played with the effects, but that does not happen, and things move slowly until the pre-climax.

Director Arjun has potential and narrates the film well for the most part. However, way too many cinematic liberties and a lack of hold on emotions are some of the drawbacks. Prasanna Vadanam has decent moments that hold your attention. However, one needs to prepare for the pace and lack of depth in the proceedings as well.

Bottom Line – Passable Thriller

Rating: 2.75/5

Sabari, starring Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and directed by Anil Katz. The film hit theatres today.