Keedaa Cola is one of the most awaited films as it was directed by Tharun Bhascker of Pelli Choopulu fame. The crazy trailers have caught the imagination of one and all and the film has been released today. Let’s see how it is.
Story: Vastu (Chaitanya Rao) has lived with his grandfather (Varadaraju) since childhood. He works as a salesman for a demo toy on which CPR is done. But he spoils it and a court case is filed against him. To raise money, Vastu along with his friend Lancham (Rag Mayur) plan a scam when they see a cockroach in Keeda Cola. They plan to demand money from the owners by filing a case. When things are going fine, he is kidnapped by Bhakta Naidu (Tarun Bhaskar), who is out of jail after 20 years, and his younger brother Jeevan (Jeevan Kumar), who aspires to become a corporator. What do they have to do with the cockroach pest koala? What did the CEO of Keeda Cola Company (Ravinder Vijay) and the shots (Raghu) who works for him do is the story.
Performances: Tarun Bhaskar has entertained more as an actor than as a director and writer. From black and black lungi shirt get-up to acting, he gave a perfect presentation. Brahmanandam’s character has no specific purpose except to be confined to a wheelchair. The timing of his dialogue delivery as Varadaraja was not missed. Chaitanya Rao is decent in his role. Roadies Raghu was amazing in his role. But the star of the film is Jeevan Kumar who gets a meaty role and nails it with his hilarious performance.
Technical Aspects: Tarun Bhaskar’s films are technically on a high level. The same high technical standards were also seen in the movie. The cinematography and production design are very good and take you into a new world. Vivek Sagar’s music is superb and his BGM is the biggest asset of the film. Sound mixing and design are good. But, sometimes the art direction and sets used look weird in the setup. The dialogue is hilarious and the ones written for Jeevan are amazing.
Analysis: Transitioning from his previous work of urban romantic comedies with an underlying theme of friendship, director Tharun Bhascker ventures into the crime comedy genre. However, even in this new terrain, the unmistakable imprint of the director is evident right from the opening scene to the very end. The film retains his signature sharp wit and cleverly written moments within the diverse character interactions.
The storyline is simple, straightforward, and often lighthearted. The narrative’s excitement is fueled by the director’s meticulously crafted characters and their dialogues. What sets Keedaa Cola apart from his earlier works is the eccentricity and uniqueness of the characters themselves. The film’s premise thrives on their quirks, resulting in a whirlwind of craziness and wackiness.
Characters like Jeevan, his assistant, Naidu, Vasu his friend, and the CEO, each of them possesses distinctive traits that instantly make them memorable even after you come out of the theatre. But the film lacks in a few areas. The execution is a bit of a mixed bag. Some scenes drag on in order to inject humor into the proceedings. However, not all of these comedic attempts hit the mark, leading to uneven pacing. The interval point arrives rather abruptly and does not give a great feeling.
It’s in the second half of Keedaa Cola that the main storyline gains some momentum. It is more engaging than the first, with sequences like the ‘Surrender Sequence’ serving as prime examples of the film hitting its stride. Keedaa Cola ends in a predictable manner, following the expected conventions of the genre. While it may not reinvent the wheel, it manages to deliver a satisfying conclusion.
Verdict: Overall, Keedaa Cola has a quirky subplot that might take some time to resonate with the audience. Once it does, it entertains you with its unique characters and fun scenes that entertain you in their own way.
Bottom Line: Quircky comedy
Rating: 2.5/5
