Amigos Review: Kalyan Ram's action drama has an interesting setup but lacks proper grip in narration

2.5/5

Story

Kalyan Ram’s Amigos is based on the doppelgänger concept. Siddharth(Kalyan Ram) searches for his doppelgänger and finds out that there are two people, Michael and Manju who just look like him. He meets them in Goa and shares a good time. The twist in the story arises when Michael aka Bipin Roy, who is a drug lord, cheats both Siddharth and Manju and lands them in massive trouble. The rest of the story is as to how the innocents, Siddharth and Manju come out of this tricky situation.

Review

Kalyan Ram is always known to experiment with all his films and gave a super hit in the form of Bimbisara, his last release. Once again, he has tried something new for the Telugu audience and came out with his new film Amigos which has the concept of Doppelgängers. Though the film starts on a slow note, the director takes us into the concept of doppelgängers in an interesting manner. The process of finding the doppelgängers looks interesting.

But once all the three lookalikes meet, the film becomes slow and has no meat. A friendship song, boring scenes fill the mid part of the first half. Also, there is a romantic track between Kalyan Ram and Ashika Ranganath which is quite bland. Things pick up only when the actual truth about one of the lookalikes is revealed and the film comes to a breakpoint on an interesting note.

Thrillers with such unique stories need to have edge of the seat moments but the narration is flat and not that engaging in Amigos. There are hardly any thrills in the first half. Director Rajendra Reddy has a good concept up his sleeve but fails to engage the audience as his narration lacks the punch. Things pick up only in the second half when the cat and mouse game begins. The backstory of Bipin Roy and how he dupes the other two lookalikes is shown in a decent manner. But still, the film does not have any high points.

The manner in which NIA is showcased in the film looks over the top. They nab the main villain but are so helpless that he keeps escaping from them time and again. The second half is also dragged during the climax just for the sake of showcasing some action part. The director should have cast at least some known name to play the NIA officers. This is the only thread which looks weak in the film.

Coming to the performances, Kalyan has proved as an actor with his effortless performance in Bimbisara. Here he plays three roles and is at its best when it comes to doing negative shades. He as the deadly drug lord Bipin is super stylish and holds your attention in the second half. While Kalyan Ram hams as Manju, he was decent as Siddharth. Ashika Ranganath makes her Telugu debut with this film and she was pretty decent. But her role looks a bit out of place. Brahmaji was neat in his supporting role. The rest of the supporting cast were not that great.

Ghibran, who is known for his solid background score sleepwalks in his department. The BGM is dull and does not elevate the scenes properly. The camera work is okay but the production values by Mythri Movie Makers could have been a lot better. Finally, director Rajendra Reddy has attempted a brave film and has made it on a honest note. But his narration should have been more gripping with thrills and give a high to the audience. But that happens only in bits and pieces and the film becomes just a passable watch.

Verdict

On the whole, Amigos has a very different concept and is explained well during the initial portions of the film. The first half lacks the needed punch and things get going only in the second half. Kalyan Ram does a sincere job in his triple role but the film should have been narrated in a more girpping manner. However, the film ends as a passable action drama and might find its traget audience.