A no-brainer with a wafer-thin plot

Sharan’s ‘Adhyaksha’ (2016), a remake of Tamil movie ‘Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam’, was a major hit.

He is now back with ‘Adhyaksha in America’ (AiA), a remake of the Malayalam movie ‘Two Countries’ (2015). AiA isn’t a sequel to ‘Adhyaksha’; the only link between the two movies is the word “adhyaksha”.

Unfortunately, everything that made ‘Adhyaksha’ funny is missing in AiA.

AiA fails to entertain and keep viewers hooked to their seats till the end and it falls flat as romantic drama.

What begins as a comedy ends as farce.

The film tells the story of a youth who wants to enjoy all the comforts of his life without sweating.

The two hour-long film is spent describing the hero’s efforts to cure his wife’s alcoholism.

The film takes the audience’s intelligence for a ride. Cliches, gabbing, mindless blabbering and inane dialogues will try the audience’s patience. It is so absurd that a character like Ullas, who has so many  flaws, succeeds in making his wife’s alcoholism look normal.

There are frequent voyeuristic innuendos throughout.

The director also attributes the girl’s drunken ways to a troubled childhood — a fact that is hard to digest.

Clever quips keep the audience engaged in some scenes, but Sharan’s sarcasm with a deadpan expression fails to work out.

He does much to salvage the film, but in vain. The film floats in those scenes where he gets his comedy right.

The narrative picks up the pace very slowly in the first half.

Ragini excels in her alcoholic act, but fails to express in emotional scenes.

Actors like Sadhu Kokila and Tabla Nani get a raw deal.

Rangayana Raghu, though in a predictable part, brings some comic relief to a drab narrative. Anish Tharun Kumar’s cinematography is delightful.

Harikrishna’s background score fails to complement the mood of the film. Lyrics fail to impress and linger in mind.The filmmaker shows grave injustice to the Kannada language by misspelling Kannada words in subtitles in a court scene.

There are emotional scenes, but they fail to touch.

There are neither surprises nor twists, except for a modest one in the climax.

It ends up being a complete no-brainier laugh riot.

Despite old-fashioned storytelling and a wafer thin plot, AiA remains a one-time watch.

All said and done, the flick gives the audience what they expect from a typical Sharan movie. If you expect a movie without logic or reasoning, then this no-brainer is a sure pick.