Bro movie review: A few good laughs and nothing more

The idea that death is the destination and life is nothing but a journey towards this destination is the grand idea that Trivikram has adapted from Tamil film Vinodhaya Seetham. Helmed by Samuthirakani, who directed the original, Bro starring Pawan Kalyan and Sai Dharam Tej, brings to life the story of an arrogant, pompous young man who believes that only he is capable of shouldering responsibilities in his family.

He assumes that his absence would incapacitate his family, and bring them to the streets. In Markandeya’s (Sai Dharam Tej) case, his struggles to an extent quantify his fear, however, the fact that life does go on for those left behind is something that he is forced to accept.

Now, the story is simple enough and it was portrayed as such in Tamil. With Pawan Kalyan‘s entry into the mix, however, Bro takes on an avatar that doesn’t just include random dance numbers, but also multiple moments which idolize Pawan Kalyan. Each moment received attention from fans as the theater was peppered with hooting, screaming and clapping.

The film had to become bigger than the story to be befitting of Pawan Kalyan’s stardom and that is sad and unfortunate because the truly enjoyable parts in the film was the more subdued rapport between Pawan Kalyan and Sai Dharam Tej. Their conversations are a mix of witty, thoughtful and outright hilarious. Especially the scene where Markandeya has to swallow his pride and return to work just moments after rage quitting is one worth mentioning.

Yet, a few good laughs in a movie that spans 2 hours 15 minutes is not enough. The film more often than not places higher value on nostalgia than story telling. It banks on the said nostalgia factor to elicit a reponse from the audience, not realizing the fact if more attention was paid to the story, it could have very well featured fresh iconic moments. The repurposing of popular songs from Pawan Kalyan’s filmography becomes tedious after a point, especially so when the film begins to delve into melodrama for an impactful ending.

I would obviously have preferred for Markandeya’s younger sister to have had a better relationship arc with her brother. In fact, the moments that really shined were of Markandeya learning time and again that he was indeed wrong, and he became more relatable with every punch that his ego took. If the film had more such nuanced moments instead of a rehash of songs from hit Pawan Kalyan movies such as Bheemla Nayak, Bro would have been so much more fun.

Also, inconsistent is the film’s dialogues and it’s intention. One moment it speaks for equality and the next moment we see an unnecessary set piece with an ‘item number’. I wonder if objectifying women falls under a different bracket. Then, there are dialogues such as “Only the rich usually get diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.” The jump in logic at this point has become something one has come to expect of Telugu commercial films. If only Bro was a simple commercial film, writing it off would have been simpler too. Instead, what we get is a brilliant idea with inferior execution.

Rating: 1.5 (out of 5 stars)

Bro is playing in cinemas