More than the film this essay might often uncontrollably get into the zone where nothing but the fascinating childlike ambition of Meher becomes the talking point. Please don’t mind, the child is truly fascinating.
This is the story of Shadow s/o Raghu Ram. Its 1993, Raghu Ram (Nagababu) is an undercover crime journalist who has been working for the mafia for many years. He tells his colleague of the bomb blasts about to happen, but, is killed a little later when his colleague double-crosses. Only his son survives the attack as the Black Friday masterminds kill his family in broad daylight. The boy grows up to be the one you cannot see, touch or feel, a Shadow, Venkatesh looking stunningly comic as ever.
So Shadow starts killing members of the terrorist group, always surprising the enemy and anyone else with his impostures. A drunken rock star gets locked up in a high security prison right next to other high profile criminals, it’s not some rock star, its Shadow. A group of hooded priests walk up to a funeral in slo-mo, it’s not some priest group, its Shadow and his friends. In spite of all the Meherly sleek impostures Shadow pulls off, a simple bump on the head creates a gap in his memory and Shadow (stripped of his beard and leather) now thinks he’s a small kid born to idolize Telugu cinema.
The gap in his memory closes when he discovers that his mother and sister are still alive and it all comes back. Seems like a simple improv of somebody getting their voice or hearing back, it was mostly lost voices coming back right.
The film is hardly any different from Meher’s previous failures, a clumsy set of scenes put together in an attempt to emulate Hollywoodish action and the conformist Telugu comedy at the same time, both of which he is incapable of.
Meher’s interview in the paper this morning said he would want producers who love and respect the medium. A few more films from him and people who love the medium might start funding the trust to be named ‘Keeping the Child Out’. He is truly that capable.
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