Clap, a sports drama based on running sport starring Aadhi Pinishetty in the lead role under the direction of Prithvi Adithya had a direct to OTT release today on SonyLIV. Check out our authentic Clap review.
Story: The movie revolves around a runner named Vishnu( Aadhi Pinishetty) who will be trained by his father ( role played by Prakash Raj). But as an unexpected scenario, Vishnu losses his left leg in a road accident. In the same accident, Vishnu losses his father. Later, left with no option, Vishnu joins as an employee in a South sports academy under the disability quota. In the process, Vishnu comes across the profile of a young girl( Bhagyalakshmi) from Khammam district who tops district level competitions in running but later gives up due to the sudden death of her parents. Impressed with Bhagyalakshmi’s track record, Vishnu convinces her to re-start the game. What kind of hurdles will Vishnu face in the training process of Bhagyalakshmi, forms the main USB of the film.
Performances: Aadhi Pinishetty gave a good performance as a physically challenged person who has an ambition in life. His settled acting and screen presence as a guy with a life full of depression brings authentic flavour to the narrative.
Young girl Krisha Kurup who acted in the role of Bhagyalakshmi gave her best to the role as her running episodes on the track brings emotional yet inspirational texture to the proceedings. Heroine Aakanksha Singh gets a limited but key role in which she gave a convincing performance.
While Prakash Raj is okay in his crucial cameo, other artists such as Brahmaji, Nassar are okay in their supporting negative shaded roles.
Technicalities: Music by legendary musician Ilayaraja fails to register as neither background music nor situational songs manage to impress. Production values for this limited budget movie are fine.
The cinematography by Praveen Kumar is apt for the film’s genre and Ragul’s editing work is good as he kept the runtime within limits.
Analysis: Director Prithvi Adithya should be appreciated for picking an experimental subject like Clap that revolves around the running sport and the internal politics in it. But if he would have added some commercial elements and taken care of the narrative the result would have been even better. Writer-wise, the director failed to impress with sharp dialogues.
The conflict between Aadhi and Nassar characters is not showcased in a proper way due to which the second half clash between the duo lacks solid impact. The husband-wife thread between Aadhi and Aakansha Singh also lacks proper detailing.
To summerize, Clap is a sports drama that has good performances from the lead artists but slow-paced narration stand tall as a demerit for the movie. Considering the OTT release of the film, Clap may end up as a one-time watch.
Verdict: Passable sports drama!
Rating: 1.5/5
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