Vaibhav Reddy

Starring: Kajal Aggarwal, Vaibhav Reddy, Anandhi, Daniel Annie Pope, Selva

Directed by: Venkat Prabhu

Producers: V Rajalakshmi

So, continuing the series of reviewing movies and shows on OTT, our today’s pick is Live Telecast, the latest Tamil/Telugu web series on Disney Hotstar. Let’s now see how it is.

Story :

Jennifer(Kajal) is a noted director who works for a reputed channel. In order to increase the TRP’s of the show, Jennifer plans to re-launch a paranormal show called Dark Tales. For this, she takes her crew to a haunted house and decides to capture real-life ghost events on TV. But as expected, things take a U-turn and the team faces trouble. Who all survive this scare forms the rest of the story

What’s Good

Kajal Aggarwal is decent in her and does not go that extra mile in her character. She does what is said and plays her part. Premji is okay in his role and brings some laughs. Vaibhav is good in his character and has done well in the series.

A few twists executed here and there look good. The show has good camerawork and the music score by Premji. The horror scenes work in the initial part of the show. Venkat Prabhu handles a few scenes well in the beginning.

What’s Bad

Not many know that Venkat Prabhu wanted to make this series as a film before. But when he gets ample time to make it as a series he flops badly. The content is old and has no novelty in it. Having an actress like Kajal, he does not use good scenes to make the show a good watch. Instead, he adds boring scenes, dragged emotions, and mostly the show is filled with repeated scenes.

Baring a twist here and there and some spooky scenes, the rest of the drama and horror scenes are boring. The editing is also not that good and the makers try to hurry things to make the show crisp. The show has so many loopholes as the logic goes for a toss. More than anything the writing is weak and has no effect.

Verdict

On the whole, Live Telecast is a poorly made horror drama that has nothing much exciting. Dull horror scenes, outdated story and silly narration take the series down in no time. Barring the screen presence of Kajal and good visuals, this show has nothing much to offer and ends as a dull watch.

Rating: 2.5/5

Main Cast : Vaibhav Reddy, Venkat Prabhu, Vani Bhojan

Director : S.G. Charles

Producer : Nitin Sathya

Editor : Anand Geraldin

So, continuing the series of reviewing movies and shows during the lockdown period, our today’s pick is the Tamil film Lockup. The film is available on Zee 5 and let’s see how it is.

Story

A noted cop in the city dies and in his place, Ilavarasi(Eeswari) is brought in to handle the station for a day. She starts investigating the case. On the other hand, Vasanth(Vaibhav) is a young cop whos is sincerely looking into the case and at the same time, there is also Moorthy(Venkat Prabhu) who is involved in the case and is also trying hard for his promotion. Who killed the senior cop and how does Ilavarasi solve the actual case and put the culprits behind bars.

What’s good?

The manner in which the scenes are narrated in a back and forth in time looks good in the film. Eeswari is getting good roles in Tamil as well and she is solid as the aggressive cop. Vaibhav is neat in his role as a small cop who is trying to make it big.

But it is Venkat Prabhu who is the best in the film as his role is amazing. The noted director showcases the cunning attitude in such a good manner and holds the film quite well. The BGM and rustic visuals are neat. The production design of the film is impressive. The first half hour is quite engaging.

What’s Bad?

After setting up the story and characters in a beautiful manner, the director decides to get over smart and adds unnecessary lawyers and subplots to confuse the audience, and this where the film goes down. What was a superb narration until then becomes a bit confusing and boring for the audience. The second part is where the narration goes down as many scenes are forced and there is also a lag in the proceedings. The audience gets a feel as to what the actual twist and get on with the film.

Final Word :

On the whole, Lock up is a cop thriller that has a decent premise and solid performances. The first half is pretty interesting and has engaging narration. But things get dragged in the latter part with too many subplots and forced scenes. All those who like cop thrillers can give this film a shot. But be prepared for the slow pace and a few dragged scenes.

Rating: 2.75/5

Review : Live Telecast- Telugu web series on Disney Hotstar

Lockdown Review : Lock Up- Tamil film on Zee 5