'One Cut Two Cut' review: Humorless dramedy with no story
What's the story
"Greetings to you, sir. Myself is an Gopi"— this is what we hear in most of the first half of One Cut Two Cut, currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The Vamsidhar Bhogaraju-directorial stars Danish Sait as Gopi, the film's lead. Since it had late actor Puneeth Rajkumar's name attached as the producer, our expectations were high, but alas! Here's our full review.
Details
At the core are four 'activists'
The film is about a group of frustrated social media activists who want their voices to be heard. And, all of them have different aims. One wants to prove he's nothing less than Amitabh Bachchan, another one wants the whole country to follow veganism, the third activist is harping on legalization of marijuana while the fourth one is just there, as a mute spectator.
Plot
Here is more about the story
These four take hostage of a school and no one takes them seriously. Even the students' parents are ready to let their children get shot because the government promises to pay them an hefty amount as donation if the children die. The premise is intended to be funny and the film wants to convey a social message, but the execution is stale.
Lead character
Gopi's characterization is not clear
Now, let's talk of Gopi, the lead man. He's shown as kind-hearted but hardly anyone treats him with love. Is it because he has an MA in Arts and Crafts (considered to be a weaker branch of education), has a toothbrush mustache or because of the way he speaks English? The writers haven't clearly reasoned as to WHY he's such a subject of ridicule.
Others
No other character is well-written
Gopi proves all wrong and gets a teacher's job. But his trajectory after that goes nowhere. The other characters— a woman Gopi has a crush on, a journalist, her birdbrained boss, a group of radical (rather non-sensual) social media activists who later become kidnappers (mentioned before), a secret agent, and the Chief Minister's secretary— also add nothing to the story. So many actors wasted!
Disappointment
Nothing works in favor of the film
Sait as Gopi expected viewers to get amused just by looking at him because neither the dialogues nor his actions are even close to being funny. Camera movements are bland as are the comical elements and sound effects. Music is boring and editing also doesn't save the poorly done satirical take on Netflix's mega hit Money Heist. Verdict: 1.5 stars just for the attempt.