Cast: Vijay Antony, Arundhati Nair, Charu Haasan and others
Director: Pradeep Krishnamoorthy
Vijay Antony is popular with Telugu moviegoers and that’s mostly thanks to his Bichagadu — a film that grossed over Rs 25 crore in the box office here. Riding on that wave his latest, Bethaludu, went on to earn a substantial sum after it released on Thursday. The movie starts with the main character caught in a series of disturbing events. Dinesh (Vijay Antony) works in IT and lives with his mother and wife Aishwarya (Arundhati Nair). Strange, unexplained things soon start happening around him and Dinesh realises that only he is able to hear a particular voice. This voice continues to trouble Dinesh and it takes the problem to another level when he accidentally kills his close friend in a car accident.
Dinesh’s boss then sends him into the care of a psychiatrist and the expert deduces that Dinesh is being haunted by something from his past life. Turns out, in that life, Dinesh was a school teacher whose was cheated by his wife. Dinesh decides to investigate his past life and travels to a village that holds the clues. What happens next forms a major portion of Bethaludu. Vijay Antony is known for picking a special kind of cinema — decisions that have often favoured him. But in Bethaludu, director Pradeep Krishnamoorthy, despite creating a spectacularly good first half, loses his plot as the second starts. He is unable to continue with the supernatural and it appears as if the director is in two minds all through the film. Towards the second half, the regular formula kicks in and that’s a bit of a let down. Don’t take us wrong the way.
There are a few genuinely thrilling moments in the film but as it nears its finish there is a certain sense of disappointment. Antony is once again brilliant as an actor. He plays his characters well and makes them feel very real. But even he too falters in the second half as his character is forced to just fight goons. It doesn’t seem to suit him at all. Arundhati Nair too has played two good characters and she deserves good praise. The film’s other highlight is its soundtrack — provided by Vijay Antony himself. It manages to elevate moods even as the cinematography falters. Bethaludu feels like it has not spent enough time in the oven. It has not cooked. The second half is a disappointment and is a bad follow-up to the thrilling first half. The movie starts off with very good ingredients but the same old masala ruins it.
