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Extra Ordinary Man review: Nithiin, Sreeleela headline the most ridiculous film of 2023
Director Vakkantham Vamsi’s Nithiin and Sreeleela-starrer almost seems to spoof everything that’s laughable about commercial cinema.
Vakkantham Vamsi, who previously directed Naa Peru Surya, Naa Illu India, returns to direction with Nithiin-starrer Extra Ordinary Man. Also starring Sreeleela, Rajasekhar, Rao Ramesh, Rohini, Brahmaji, Sampath Raj, Harshavardhan and others in key roles, the film never takes itself seriously, leaving you mostly frustrated, sometimes bored and at times, chuckling at the absurdity of it all. (Also Read: Hi Nanna review: Nani, Mrunal Thakur, Kiara Khanna shine in this emotional tale)
Extra Ordinary Man Story
Abhinay aka Abhi (Nithiin) is a junior artiste in the Telugu film industry and the personification of a happy-go-lucky golden retriever. His dream in life is to be a lead actor someday but all he can land are tiny, inconsequential roles. Hearing, “Venakki velamma, (go stand behind everyone)” every single day of his career is not enough to get him down, nor is hearing his father (Rao Ramesh) use a few choice expletives while describing him. What happens when Abhi decides to be a hero in real life if he can’t be one on-screen?
Extra Ordinary Man Review
Early on in the film, Sreeleela’s manic pixie dream girl Likitha, asks Abhi if he’s the junior artiste from Kobbari Matta. Right there should give you a hint that much like Sampoornesh Babu’s film, Extra Ordinary Man will veer more towards spoof and less towards comedy. Vakkantham has some interesting ideas that don’t really seem fully realised. He picks up tracks and characters as and when need be, dropping them off randomly with no explanation. So much so, that by the end of the film, you don’t even know why Sreeleela is in the film.
The tone doesn’t always work
The film has some pretty silly sequences. Like how Abhi goes about becoming the ‘hero’ he so desires to be, or how he becomes a company’s CEO in no time. The more Rao Ramesh (who is hilarious) loses his mind over Abhi’s antics, it almost feels like the audience will too. But nothing beats how the supposedly ruthless villain Nero (Sudev Nair) deals with Abhi. If you thought commercial cinema was unrealistic in how villains deliver soliloquies and hand-fight the heroes instead of shooting them at the first chance, wait till you watch what happens in the film.
Needed more focus
Even within the boundaries Vakkantham is working with, the film feels like it needed sharper writing and editing. Sreeleela’s Likitha gets a few unnecessary scenes just so they can bring her in sporadically to shake a leg to Harris Jayaraj’s songs, which also add nothing to the story.
Vakkantham also can’t help but give in to the very commercial tropes he’s mocking. The toilet humour and double entrendre comedy don’t help either. Rao Ramesh’s scenes with Nithiin make you laugh, but not much else does.
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