Coming-of-age tales and scenarios are presented in Tollywood movies in an entirely typical manner. The success of “Maharshi” was largely attributed to the star power and the “Do or Die” attitude of the farmer’s section, despite not being any different. ‘Thank You’ isn’t too soapy, but even by Tollywood standards, it falls short.
After becoming a prosperous start-up entrepreneur, Abhiram (Naga Chaitanya) has forgotten his moral principles. He has been busy growing his wings and has grown to view people who depend on him as parasites in the process. His live-in partner Priya (Raashi Khanna) is devastated by his debauchery. The final straw is a personal tragedy. She leaves, Abhiram to reflect on his decisions in life.
The career graph for Abhiram is moving up in the US. He cannot be stopped. His connection with Priya is deteriorating in the meantime. These passages may have been told with a little more emotional depth, making use of the running time to give Abhiram a sense of mystique. As opposed to that, everything we see here is on par with what we’ve already seen in the trailer.
There is a strong desire to skip the first act and set the action in Narasapuram. In 2002, Abhiram was brimming with innocence and gets attracted to a young girl (Malavika Nair, in her career’s first superficial performance). The brief romantic relationship gave him a life lesson.
Abhiram was a hockey player with a carefree attitude four years later. He engaged in combat with aspiring politician Sharwa Reddy (Sai Sushanth). With the exception of the casting choice for the role of the “Rakhi” sister, performed by Avika Gor, this segment is both overlong and cliched. Even the decision to use hockey as the background for the sports scene reeks of laziness rather than an effort to add layer after layer.
Vikram K. Kumar, the director, and the writer should have received greater attention on the characters of Abhiram. In the last scene, where the male protagonist is greeted by Satish outside the airport, he is given a human face and given the appearance of an unpretentious buddy. This piece of writing is outstanding. Wish there were more of these in the movie. Both PC Sreeram’s photography and Thaman’s tunes are adequate.
Title: Thank You
Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Raashi Khanna and others
Director: Vikram K Kumar
Rating: 2/5
