'Avesham' Movie Review: Fahadh Faasil's Unbridled Action Has This Thin Plot

A still from the movie 'Avesham'

A very tense moment Awesome One of several matches is not placed, but bang in the middle of a game of silent charades. The game takes place in the den of colorful gangster Rangan (Fahd Faasil), whose stories range from chillingly realistic to far-fetched. One of the stories we've heard about him before involves a silent game of charades, which apparently led to a violent outburst of anger.

It's a cleverly crafted scene that makes us question our understanding of the character up until then and reassures us that we've made the right assessment, only to wonderfully upset it again moments later. This ambiguity about Rangan is one of the things that filmmaker Jeetu Madhavan successfully pulls off in the gangster comedy. AwesomeHis sophomore effort after the hit horror comedy Romancham.

Awesome Fahad as a gangster decked out in bling is an entirely different animal with his run of the mill and habit of sharing his dance reels. We see Rangan through the eyes of three Malayali students in Bangalore, Aju (Hipster), Bibi (Jsmithun) and Shantan (Roshan Shanavas), who frequent seedy bars with the intention of getting some “local support” to take revenge on him. The elders blamed him.

Scenes leading to Rangan's introduction and his true stance are slowly revealed. And, to build on this character, Rangan's sidekick Amban (Sajin Gopu) has a wealth of comic and horror stories on him, recounting them as if he had witnessed them, but there is always an element of doubt about him. Devious nature. Rangan is the kind of character essayed by mainstream stars in the past, but Fahadh spins it in his own way and runs with it unhindered like a child left to his own at home.

The ubiquitous presence of this character and Sushin Shyam's pulsating score somewhat paper over the film's many weaknesses, especially in plot and character development. A long interlude followed a substantial hiatus, during which the film changes its look from unabashed hero worship to a cautionary tale. Awesome Could have done with some much-needed trimming, though it's still amazing that they managed to sustain a runtime with such a thin plot.

Among the youngsters, some of whom are social media stars, and Sajin, Fahad's one-man show stand on their own. But no female character, not even the campus girl (who gets a major focus in the film) gets a substantial presence. “Are you happy?” Only Bibi's mother asking that is memorable. To anyone who talks to her on the phone. It presents us with a rare insight into Rangan's personality, which is largely hidden from us due to sketchy writing that focuses too much on the glossy exterior. Well, it's the kind of film that revels in its loudness and spectacle and leaves little room for quiet introspection and meaningful connections…things even Rangan yearns for.

Avesham is currently running in theatres