Extra Ordinary Man Doesn’t Quite Hit the Mark With the Audience
Review by Aditya Taksh
Extra: Ordinary Man is the latest flick of actor Nithiin that was released in theatres on Friday. Let’s see how it would fare at the box office in this review.
Story
Abhinay (Nithiin) has a lofty plan to become big in the movie industry against the wishes of his father Rao Ramesh. But when he bumps into Likhita (Sreeleela), a wealthy entrepreneur, Abhinay shelves his dream temporarily. As he continues to enjoy a well-paid job in Likhita’s company, Abhinay is offered a career-altering role in a film. He happens to meet one Inspector General Arjun Baladev (Rajasekhar) and enters into the shoes of a cop.
What are the differences Abhi had with his father?
The conflict with the businessman (Sudesh Nair), who engages in illegal activities. Why did Abhi choose to involve himself with the police IG Baladev? And why Abhi poses as an SI (Sub-Inspector) unfolds the central plot of the story.
Analysys
Vakkantham Vamsi’s style of writing always followed a single pattern right from his first commercial film that came in early 2000. And he seems to have followed the same formula in Extra involving the hero doing whatever pleases him.
In the process taking references of popular films and mimicking big stars of Telugu cinema, Nithiin looked like he got deviated in maintaining his originality in the film.
The template has grown stale because there are numerous films which attempted it and ultimately failed at the box office. However novel the story and the characterization of the protagonist may seem, Vakkantham, who provided story to films like ‘Kick’ and ‘Race Gurram’, may have been unknowingly caught in the same repetitive pattern when he wrote Extra.
Unlike what the trailer has offered, the director swiftly steers the narrative into a conventional path, laden with exaggerated scenes throughout the first half. The romantic track between Nithiin and Sreeleela becomes quite hard to entertain, but the comic performances by Nithiin and Rao Ramesh salvage the first half.
The story is burdened with numerous silly scenes. The portrayal of a wealthy, foolish entrepreneur heroine falling for an aimless individual and promptly appointing him as the CEO of a company make it a farce for the viewer.
The second half becomes dead predictable. It appears that scenes have been tweaked from ‘Race Gurram’ and given a twist to make it spicier.
It looked as if the humour and the dialogues largely draw inspiration from social media spoofs. The story-line follows a familiar path with a predictable screenplay and less-than-convincing characters. It seems the director aimed for a light-hearted humorous film, but an excess of these elements transforms it into a slapstick comedy in the end.
Performances
Nithiin puts up a commendable effort for his role as a junior artiste. Despite the abundance of silly jokes, it’s Nithiin’s character that manages to evoke occasional laughter in the hall.
Except for her dance moves, Sreeleela did not fit the bill for the role. The combination scenes and comedy between Rao Ramesh and Rohini worked well in certain parts. The duo continued to contribute to the film’s humour in the latter half. Actor Ajay, Harshavardhan, and the rest of the cast did their bit effectively. Sampath performed adequately, while Rajasekhar’s debut in a special role left much to be desired, possibly disappointing his fans with this underdeveloped characterization.
Brahmaji, Hyper Aadi, and the Jabardasth actors managed to evoke humour in a few scenes. Sudev Nair looked fairly average in the role of an antagonist.
Final take
Extra:Ordinary Man is marred with less light-hearted comedy and an overdose of spoofs. Except for Nithiin’s whistle-worthy performance in the first half, the film tests your patience with its poor writing and treatment in the second half.
Rating: 2/5
