Popcorn review: This Popcorn is not completely crunchy 

But when a movie titled ‘Popcorn’ hits the screens, can the same be said about it? Apparently not!

Hyderabad: ‘Popcorn’ – a favourite snack of many, moviegoers included – brings up a collage of images, memories, and emotions. Buttery, cheesy, salty, mildly spicy or even caramel-ish, this crunchy snack can be munched anytime, anywhere.

But when a movie titled ‘Popcorn’ hits the screens, can the same be said about it? Apparently not!

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The story is set in a lift, where the lead pair get stuck for almost 20 hours. A quick question here: how many hours can a person survive in a closed lift?

The film opens with Sameerana (Avika Gor) gasping for breath early in the morning. She attempts to calm herself down, gulp some water (the bottle is empty, by the way), and breathe while trying to wake her mom up. Once woken up, all the mom does is keep saying ‘Samee’ while looking for her asthmatic daughter’s inhaler. Quite a dramatic opening, right?

It’s morning now and Pavan (Sai Ronak) is playing the guitar in a park where his sister accompanies their grandfather on a walk. A boy-meets-girl situation (with a misunderstanding) is created here. Both head to the same mall for their respective purchases, and end up in the lift. Now begins the actual story. There’s a bomb blast and the lift lands in the basement. Police cordon off the area and the duo is stuck. Agreed it’s a tad bit too exaggerated, but who cares!

It’s a very good premise to build either a beautiful love story or a racy survival thriller.

Unfortunately, the director fails to do either. So, what we end up watching is some kind of a feel-good film trying to pass off as a thriller. A series of fights, arguments, and misunderstandings later, Pavan and Samee start liking each other, followed by some unconvincingly far-fetched scenes.

Parts of the film remind you of the survival drama ‘Mili’ but they don’t really make you feel scared for the lead couple’s lives. The director should have juxtaposed the scenes in the lift with what was happening in the outside world post the blast.

What works for the film are the amazing cinematography, picturisation and camera angles (considering the lift’s limited space), well handled by MN Bal Reddy. Editor Karthik Srinivas also did a good job as did Murali with screenplay and dialogues, which are fun – and clean 90% of the time. Shravan Bharadwaj scores well in terms of music.

Within the limited scope of the story, he manages to squeeze in a couple of fast songs, a melody and a rap song too!

The film is completely led by Avika and Ronak – both look great together and have terrific screen presence. Since most of the shots are close-up ones, it’s good to have a good-looking pair on-screen. As long as they are fighting, smiling, and talking, they are good. They need to work on their emoting skills though – especially in scenes where they are supposed to be scared or worried.

Overall, a one-time watch – don’t forget to carry your tub of popcorn although there’s no connection between the title and the storyline.