Rajkummar Rao

Srikanth Movie Review: Rajkummar Rao is one of the few actors who are capable of fully inhabiting his role, and even more important, shedding all vanity in the process.

Srikanth tells the story of the real-life Srikanth Bolla, the visually-impaired self-made billionaire, and his extraordinary journey from a dirt-poor Andhra village to the national stage as one of India’s leading industrialists.

Even as it comes with the usual disclaimer of creative liberties, the plot hews as close as it can to real life in a feature film: the delight of the father (Srinivas Beesetty) turning into dismay when he holds his sightless newborn in his arms, his mother (Anusha Nuthul) begging for his life, the bullying in the local school, his brilliance shining through, getting into MIT when IIT refuses him entrance, his return to India, and his embarking upon the untrodden path that takes him into the kind of unbelievable sunshine that most people, leave alone those with disabilities, only dream about.

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There’s no doubt that Tushar Hiranandani has chosen a worthy subject. Despite the increase in advocacy and raising awareness, putting a person with a disability in the center of the frame continues to be an act of bravery, especially now when theatrical releases are dying by the dozens. With Rajkummar Rao playing the part of Srikanth Bolla, it’s a given that you will get both skill and utmost sincerity. Touching upon the high points of a difficult life in a 2.5-hour feature leans towards broad brushstrokes, though, and this takes away complexity, the story-telling ends up being pretty basic.

Is Srikanth’s portrayal life-like? This is crucial to us believing. On that score, Rao scores, though I did get distracted by his eyebrow wiggle in the second half of the film, which also becomes drier. Rao is one of the few actors who is capable of fully inhabiting his role, and even more importantly, shedding all vanity in the process: when his Srikanth Bolla repeats his mantra, Sri Can, and smiles, you smile back.

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As Srikanth’s rock, the teacher who stood by him when all hope appeared lost, Jyotika is convincing. Alaya F pops up as the young woman who becomes fascinated by this man who doesn’t let anything come in the way of what he wants to do and instantly adds a bit of sparkle to the film. You wish she was given a bigger role: who is this girl? Sharad Kelkar is reliable as always, as the faithful friend who never turns his back on Srikanth, even when the latter becomes too full of himself and starts throwing his weight around.

Dispensing with this aspect, that disabled people need to be ‘noble’ and ‘good’, is the strength of this film: Rao does a solid job of being disgruntled and too smart for his good, telling us that people with deep challenges are, after all, also human. They can also behave badly. More focus on this side of Srikanth, whose endeavors in real life have had a lasting impact on blind students wanting to opt for the sciences, would have lent the film a welcome interiority.

And then are the message-y parts, heavy on dialogue, laden with life lessons, which come thick and fast. While Srikanth’s climactic speech telling us what we must and must not do when faced with people with disabilities is effective, it is also a lazy device, which makes the movie more tell, than, well, show. Plus, my biggest bugbear, the background music, is so glaringly loud, especially when the film kicks into gear, that it drowns even the dialogue. Why, can’t filmmakers trust us to feel those feelings ourselves?

Still, despite its limitations, I will take ‘Srikanth’. Because it chooses to tell the story of someone who refused to be labeled a Bechara — no standing on the road and begging for alms or ‘making candles’ –and celebrates an individual who managed to lift himself from a hole in the ground where he was going be buried alive, to someone who created a job for himself, and countless people like him. Because it talks of barbaric, not recharging: yes it comes off as a dialogue, but it is also effective.

When Srikanth says knowingly, ‘hamaare chakkar mein mat panda, beach ke kha jayenge’, you are startled, and then you laugh out loud. You know instantly that this is a guy who has learned that self-pity is self-defeating, that he is grateful to have been supported to be able to reach a point where he can make the best of his innate abilities, and that he is a winner. And everyone loves a winner, right?

• Srikanth movie cast: Rajkummar Rao, Jyotika, Sharad Kelkar, Alaya F, Jameel Khan, Srinivas Beesetty, Anusha Nuthul
• Srikanth movie director: Tushar Hiranandani
• Srikanth movie rating: 2.5 stars