X&Y movie review: D Satya Prakash’s comedy drama has more misses than hits

X&Y movie story: Kreede (D Satya Prakash) is a do-gooder who runs an auto ambulance service to help those in need. But this is not enough for him to qualify as an eligible bachelor on matrimony sites. When a mentally-disturbed beggar (Atharva Prakash) then dies in what Kreede believes to be a freak accident that he may have been responsible for, just before the neighborhood clinic can pronounce him dead, he returns to the world of the living. The soul inhabiting this body turns out to be that of Kreede’s unborn child, with the innocent being then going on a mission to unite its parents, for which, they have to first find the mother, while on a tight deadline.

X&Y movie review: As a moviegoer, films with a strong social message or messages, as the case maybe, are not exactly high up on the list of must-watches, unless, of course, it is made explicitly clear beforehand and you go in prepared for that kind of drama, or it is presented so subtly you just about take note. I am not a fan of the middle path that is neither here nor there, a format that filmmakers often rely on. They promise entertainment and get preachy too. Like, for instance, the Vijayaprasad school of cinema that mixes adult humour with a socially-relevant matter. I’ve often argued that the audience that enjoys his kind of comedy may not want a lesson in whatever moral science lesson he’s chosen.

I had the same reservation with D Satya Prakash’s film X&Y too, when he explained it’s basic thread. He was curious about what an unborn soul would make of life on earth, with all its highs and lows, much like an alien exploring earth. For all the talk about leaving a brighter and better future for generations to come, Satya lamented that nothing much is being put into action, which he wanted to address in his film, albeit in a fun and entertaining manner. And therein lay the problem.

X&Y is a partially entertaining film; there’s humour that lands and some that doesn’t, but where it unravels is when it decides to go all dramatic. While Satya devotes the first half of the film to establishing his characters, especially what a good human being his Kreede is, and his encounter with the dead nameless vagabond, who comes back to life, when a certain soul decides to pay earth a visit. This Jeeva (Atharva Prakash), is the soul of Kreede’s unborn child that is yearning to officially make its way to earth. But for this to happen, Kreede has to first find his soul mate and Jeeva decides to help him along the way. Jeeva is presented as this naive being that has no idea about urinary functions and yet knows about the importance of mixing chromosomes for it to be born. 

In the second half the narrative gets heavy, when Jeeva encounters a bunch of people who have faced different forms of abandonment and if that isn’t tough enough for the innocent soul to comprehend, there’s a caste conflict that he gets thrown into. As noble as Satya’s intentions are in this portion of the film, it doesn’t sit well in the larger of scheme of things. Why couldn’t X&Y be a full-fledged unapologetic comedy about this unborn soul’s efforts to get mom and dad together without these other complications? Or could Satya have stuck to this narrative without melodrama? It’s just a thought, but the way it is now, the film didn’t work for me.

Also read: X&Y director Satya Prakash: I stood in front of Upendra’s house for 8 months before I got a break 

Atharva Prakash has a great smile and Satya uses it to good effect in the film. The filmmaker is also able to justify his own casting and is fairly efficient as Kreede. Brinda Acharya, as ‘dreamgirl’ Kripa, whom Kreede has been stalking for a while on social media and is, apparently, destined to be with, is quite pleasing in her role, as is Ayaana in the limited scope that she has. Sunder Veena is yet again relegated to a role that borders on buffoonery, while the rest of the cast have nothing worthwhile to offer.

For what it’s worth, the fact that filmmakers like Satya are still swimming against the tide and doing experimental cinema is commendable, especially at a time when there’s no guarantee of an audience. One only wishes that this experimentation would be more focused, instead of a potpourri of too many elements.

X&Y movie verdict: Rama Rama Re maker D Satya Prakash’s latest film has noble intentions, no doubts, and will work for audiences who look for more than just entertainment in their movie outings. If you’d like to be stirred, while also enjoying a laugh or two, X&Y could be your cup of tea. This one’s not mine.