The Girlfriend Review

After delivering a national award with his debut film, Chi La Sow(2018), and scoring a disaster with his second film, Manmadhudu 2(2019), the director, Rahul Ravindran, took some time and then teamed up with Rashmika Mandanna, for ‘The Girlfriend’. Kannada actor, Dheekshith Shetty, paired opposite Rashmika Mandanna and Anu Emmanuel, played a crucial role in the film. Allu Aravind’s Geetha Arts produced the film along with Dheeraj Mogilineni Entertainments. After generating enough curiosity with the trailer and after being in the news for the last few days due to social media abuse controversy, the film was finally released in the theatres. Did Rashmika continue her hit streak at the box office? How did she manage to carry an entire film on her shoulders? Did the director, Rahul Ravindran, deliver a memorable film like ‘Chi La Sow’ with ‘The Girlfriend’? Did the music director, Hesham Abdul Wahab, deliver yet another soulful music album? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Bhooma Devi(Rashmika Mandanna) joins Ramalingaiah Arts & Science College in Hyderabad to pursue her master’s in literature and to eventually fulfil her dream of becoming an author. Vicky Aka Vikram(Dheekshith Shetty), studies a Master’s in computer science in the same college. Vicky feels Bhooma is sweet and caring just as his mother(Rohini). He in a way manipulates and gaslights Bhooma and makes sure she falls in love with him. How did their relationship evolve? Why did the initially reluctant Bhooma eventually fall in love with Vikram? Is Bhooma, really happy with the way her relationship with Vikram evolves? Why is Vikram so obsessed with Bhooma? What is Vikram’s backstory? Who is Durga(Anu Emmanuel)? How is Durga related to Bhooma and Vikram? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Rashmika Mandanna in the role of Bhooma Devi, delivered her career-best performance. The innocence, the reluctance, the love, the affection, the helplessness, the anger and the ferociousness, she performed every emotion terrifically. Particularly, her performance during a sequence that showcases multiple emotions while watching the ‘Hi Nanna’ movie, the pre-interval sequence in front of the mirror and under the shower, was just outstanding. She’s sure to get a lot of awards for her performance in the film.

Dheekshith Shetty in the role of a narcissist and gaslighting boyfriend, delivered a very commendable performance. However, he went overboard in a few sequences. Particularly, his performance in the sequence with Roa Ramesh, is over the top. After a long time, Anu Emmanuel, is back on the silver screen. She got a crucial role and she did a good job.

Rohini Molleti got only one sequence in the film but she stuns you with her terrific act. The way she emoted just through her eyes is simply superb. Roa Ramesh in the role of a father was alright. He made his presence well in a poorly written role. Rahul Ravindran in the role of a professor was alright.

Technicalities:

Hesham Abdul Wahab’s songs and background score are soulful and soothing. Just like Hesham’s earlier Telugu films, The Girlfriend, too has multiple songs and all of them blended well with the mood and flow of the film. Krishnan Vasant’s cinematography is commendable. His work during the pre-interval ‘mirror’ and ‘shower’ sequences, deserves a special mention. Both the sequences were shot brilliantly and stun the audience.

Chota K Prasad’s editing would have been better, particularly in the first half of the film. The pace of the film in the first half is slow and even with just two hours and eighteen minutes of runtime, the film feels a bit dragged out at times. Producers of the film, Allu Aravind, Dheeraj Mogilineni & Vidya Koppineedi, deserve appreciation for believing in a socially relevant topic and for agreeing to do a film on such a serious topic with an informed star actress. Let’s discuss Rahul Ravindran’s work in detail in the analysis section.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Rashmika’s Performance
2.⁠ ⁠Five Brilliantly Directed Sequences
3.⁠ ⁠Dialogues
4.⁠ ⁠Rohini’s Performance
5.⁠ ⁠Soulful Music

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Leisurely Pace
2.⁠ ⁠Rao Ramesh’s Character Arc
3.⁠ ⁠Unidimensional Writing

Analysis:

Read this sequence – A father visits his daughter’s college hostel to surprise her. When he knocks on the door, her boyfriend opens it. He learns that his daughter is sleeping with her boyfriend. He becomes angry, goes to the head of the department (HOD), and asks him to give the Transfer Certificate (TC) for his daughter immediately. The HOD says, ‘Why should I give the transfer certificate and send your daughter home with you? She’s not engaging in illegal activities like drug abuse, etc. She’s an adult and has every right to sleep with her boyfriend. There’s nothing wrong with it as long as there is consent.

The Girlfriend is a well-written, well-directed and well-perceived film but the chances of you liking the film are directly proportional to your opinion of the HOD’s response. If you agree with his response, there’s a very high probability of you liking the film. And, if you don’t agree with his response, you may not like the film. A sequence where Rashmika showcases multiple emotions while watching the ‘Hi Nanna’ movie, the pre-interval sequence on Rohini and the subsequent sequence on Rashmika under the shower, the breakup sequence and Rashmika’s burst-out sequence during the climax, worked out in favour of the film. All of the aforementioned sequences were written, directed well and the actors elevated them with their superb acting.

Rahul Ravindran, the story writer, the screenplay writer, the dialogue writer and director, of the film took a socially relevant and important topic of gaslighting. It is something which most of the girls who step into colleges often face. Rahul was very true to what he wanted to convey and came up with a screenplay that showcases the emotional abuse and gaslighting that a woman faces after reluctantly falling for a man. However, the screenplay unfolds at a very leisurely pace and at times, you may feel the director is unapologetically biased towards women. In an attempt to show the trauma a woman faces, he even took the liberty to showcase the father of the girl in a poor light. The entire Rao Ramesh conversation with Rashmika about harmones during the pre-climax of the film, appeared overboard.

‘I want a girl who is as sweet, loving and affectionate as my mother’, we must have heard boys in their youth uttering this statement many times. Isn’t it? Rahul took this statement and wrote a character of a self-obsessed man and used his upbringing as a reason for his troubled behaviour. The writing and the way Rahul executed the male lead’s character are very hard-hitting and realistic but at times, he went overboard. The dialogue ‘Nenu kavalanukunte padutavu. Padela chesthanu’, is a perfect line to sum up the male lead’s character. Kudos to the dialogue writer in Rahul for coming up with such effective lines throughout the film. However, better care would have been taken in writing the Rao Ramesh character. It appeared as if the director wanted to showcase that all the men, including the father, in Bhooma’s life are evil, except the professor.

Overall, The Girlfriend is a good watch if you like leisurely paced serious and socially relevant dramas with good music, sensible direction and very good performances. It is unapologetic in what it wants to convey and most women are likely to relate to a few situations they may have faced in their lives. Particularly, Rashmika’s burst-out sequence during the climax sequence is sure to get a lot of applause from the women audience.

Bottomline – Hard Hitting

Rating – 2.75/5

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