Over-the-top acting mars the movie
The Jagapathi Babu starrer FCUK fails to impress for multiple reasons
Badhaai Ho dealt with the embarrassment of a middle-aged couple when they realise that stork is set to visit and the son of marriageable age in the family is unable to accept it. Mere Baap Pehle Aap deals with the opposite side where the son is eager to get the dad married. Thematically tested with varying degrees of success.
So when FCUK shows up with a single parent Phani (Jagapathi Babu) and his bachelor son Karthik (Raam Karthik), you hope that you are in for something warm and pleasant.
Unfortunately, nothing of the kind is in offering. Firstly, filmmaker KL Damodar Prasad messes up the first law of comedy films: make them short. On the other hand, he uses all the raw stock at his command. Another temptation he falls for is the high-octane narrative. Completely devoid of subtlety. You are in for a huge over-the-top acting.
It starts with Uma (Ammu Abhirami) starting off as a medico going over-the-top about a virginity test. You probably begin to adjust to a new normal mindset. No, this also is not the zone for long stay. Not even a motel space. You quickly go back to the hero Karthik falling in love with Uma and trying to woo her. He’s obviously inspired by his distinguished (?) predecessors in office and tries the template tricks. Uma to lives up to the lineage of heroines in rejection mode till she falls for him.
Papa and son call each other Tom and Jerry, and behave like cartoon characters. And, our hero is also inspired by two friends (Ram Prasad and Naveen). Almost at half-time we have Dad Jerry and a condom manufacturer come out with his product having failed — a child Chitti (Baby Saharshitha). So we have Father, Chitti, Uma, and Karthik. That is the drift — if you care to get there.
The arrival of the child gets the inertia-ridden script rolling. Yet another familiar and tested story of the film is the ‘joker suitor’ (Bharat) adding yet another seemingly comic angle to a narrative gone awry long ago. The family gathers in the village with the moralistic patriarch, multiple couples — decked for the camera. Karthik, Chitti and Uma join the family fold and the drama begins. Ages later is the conclusion — another anti-climax.
JB is pathetic. Hardly the choice for a comedy. He just can’t give up the frown. Most in the cast are over-the-top. Ammu Abhirami is also in the same league. The expressions are static, the dialogues flat.
In the midst of all this is Raam Karthik. Very pleasant to the eye, he is one person who seems to know the craft of cinema. He tries it all: romance, stunts, comedy and succeeds. It is unfortunate that he is caught up in a mess. The script offers very little. He managed to salvage whatever he can. The lone bright star. He shows promise. Hopefully, filmmakers will lap him up.
So far as the film is concerned, it is about using the vowel in the wrong place!
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