Appreciation Post- Why Arjun Reddy is a Modern Classic!

In the wake of Kabir Singh (Hindi) and Adithya Varma (Tamil), the most controversial of it's time, the original, Arjun Reddy (Telugu) is once again in the news. It's been over two years since Arjun Reddy hit the theatres and is still one of the most talked about in the film fraternity. While some are of the opinion that it's just another movie with glorification of drugs and alcohol and mistaking obsession with love, others are of the opinion that Arjun Reddy is one of those rare movies that reinvent filmmaking. Kabir Singh and Adithya Varma may or may not meet the expectations but Arjun Reddy will be remembered for generations to come.

Before we dig deep, one important thing to be remembered is that Arjun Reddy is not a story of a perfect protagonist. It's the story of a person who is transforming. The essence of the movie lies in the raw feel it carries. Arjun Reddy is as close to reality so far from it. He has the same issues as every other college going kid and has fantasy dealing on his side while solving them. He has a rival trying to mess up his life while he has an extremely supportive rich dad. He has an alcohol problem. And then, there's the climax, definitely a fantasy. The way the director, Sandeep Reddy Vanga struck balance between reality and fantasy is truly commendable.

It has awesome performances. Vijay Devarakonda, a household name now wasn't really popular when Arjun Reddy was released. He had acted in some very good movies and a national award winning one but that was it. Arjun Reddy is the movie that made him a household name. And you never see the star on the screen. You only see the character. The attitude he carries throughout the movie gives you goosebumps. He floored me away with the vast array of emotions he was able to portray so effortlessly in the movie. Though you don't hear much from Shalini Pandey, she too gives a near perfect performance as a shy introvert Preeti. It wouldn't be just if Rahul Ramakrishna isn't given his due credit speaking about performances. He is the friend everybody wished they were and they had! Shiva will be referred to for decades to come, everytime someone wants to define true friendship. Then you have the awesome family of Arjun Reddy, including his Grandma!

The music is what plays a bigger role than any character. You feel like you're listening to live music than soundtrack from a movie. It immerses you with the emotion that's going in the movie. Especially the scene when Arjun rushes to Preeti's home and during the interval bang. Takes you into a different world.

It'd be less how much ever I speak about cinematography. None of the scenes feel staged. The story is captured in such natural and novel manner that even it's 3 hour+ runtime never bores you and keeps you engaged.

Yes, Arjun Reddy as well has couple of those shitty sequences. One, a rip-off from the Denzel Washington starrer Flight and the other, the climax. Yeah, they're cringe-worthy and completely out of place. The climax still fits in with the underlying message of the picture.

It is easy to make your audience root for a hero, a protagonist that's a shimmering ray of hope and a self righteous pure heart. The tough part is to make them root for a twisted character. A self destructive toxic character. It is tough when the audience see that your lead character is not exactly your knight in the shining armor and yet they want him to win. That's what is achieved in Arjun Reddy. You have a despicable protagonist and you will hate that you're not able to hate him.

Arjun Reddy is a person with his own principles, good or otherwise, but the one who sticks to them. Not a hypocrite. This is as good any character development can be presented on the screens. Definitely one of the top picks in the category.

The very common argument against Arjun Reddy is the politically correct statements of misogyny and what kind of message is it passing. Well, you're not told that Arjun is your new age Gandhi or Mother Theresa. You're not supposed to ape Arjun. Those who have tried already failed at the box-office as well. You're supposed to pick what you want to and leave off what you don't.

It is not easy to remake a classic and get similar results but given the effort that was put in, hope Kabir Singh and Adithya Varma taste success.

P.S: Another argument is that you don't listen to Preeti much on the screen. Maybe when Preeti Shetty is made, we'll see the story from her perspective. 爛

Peace!