Amruth Apartments review: Tarak and Urvashi capture life of aspirational Bengaluru couples beautifully

3.5/5

Story: Vasu (Tarak Ponnappa), a Kannadiga, and Sapna (Urvashi Goverdhan), a Bengali, have been married for just about a year, the result of a hasty decision that they now regret. With only days to go to file their divorce petition and sort out their joint finances, the couple gets entangled in a murder investigation.

Review: If you’ve lived in Bengaluru, and, more precisely, in an apartment, long enough, the setting of debutant director Gururaj Kulkarni will feel nothing but normal to you. Here, he chooses a mixed couple, Vasu, a Kannadiga, and Sapna, a Bengali, as his protagonists, who live at Amruth Apartments. Their bickering that comes from cultural and ideological differences apart, their routine lifestyle that repeats like clockwork, will strike a chord with most working couples – well at least from pre-pandemic times.

Vasu and Sapna have been married for just about a year, only to realize soon enough that they don’t see eye-to-eye on several issues. He can’t stand non-veg being cooked in the house, while she doesn’t understand his attachment to family and believes that taking care of them should end at supporting them financially. While they have joint assets, most of which, like all aspirational Bengalureans, are on EMI, they are set to go their separate ways soon. But when a murder occurs in the neighbourhood, the couple gets drawn into the investigation deeper than they’d wished for. Can they get out of it? And, at what cost?

The major highlight of Amruth Apartments, until about mid-way is its normalcy. The chemistry between the couple, the way they speak to each other, their interactions with friends and acquaintances – it’s stuff you and I would say in those situations. There are no bombastic over-the-top dialogues or machoism on display. Tarak, as Vasu, is just your everyday regular guy and that what makes him so likeable. But just as good or even a tad better is Urvashi as Sapna. The actress, who goes with they/them, is a complete natural and a delight to watch.

The second half revolves around the investigation and brings into the mix Manasa Joshi as the jurisdictional ACP, and two undercover cops. Noteworthy here is the dignified presentation of the police and their investigation process. The JJ Nagar police station here is unlike most you’ve seen in other films and credit for that and everything else that works right for Amruth Apartments should go to director Gururaj, who has also written and produced the film.

Verdict: In Sandalwood parlance, Amruth Apartments is a film for multiplex audiences. If you like mass entertainers, this one’s not for you. This is a slice-of-life entertainer that will have you rooting for the protagonists simply because they could be you or me.