Cast: Allari Naresh, Mirnaa Menon, Indraja, Sharath Lohitashwa, and Shatru
Director: Vijay Kanakamedala
Producers: Sahu Garapati and Harish Peddi
Music: Sri Charan Pakala
Cinematography: Siddharth J
Editor: Chota K. Prasad
Plot
K. Shiva Kumar (played by Allari Naresh) plays a rebellious cop who is sincere and does complete justice to his job. His sincerity towards work often leads to disturbances between him and his wife, Aparna (played by Mirnaa Menon). The duo falls in love when Shiva is undergoing his training, and they get married against the will of Aparna’s family and give birth to a girl. This is the story of a happy, cute little family and how Shiva handles situations when tragedy strikes them. Although they are an extremely loving couple, what made Aparna call her dad and tell him that she wanted to leave Shiva and return home? Meanwhile, there is another story in the background: the disappearance of several people from the city. Will Shiva be able to solve this?
Performances
Allari Naresh gave a good performance, especially in the climax portions. He brings the intensity of a rebellious cop to his performance. He proved his acting prowess once again with this movie. Be it the angry parts, the fights, or the emotional scenes, the actor gave it all to this character, Shiva. The actor carries the whole film on his shoulders. Of course, there are misses, like when Naresh mouths some preachy dialogues that, at parts, don’t suit him.
Mirnaa has got a character with depth, and she did complete justice to her role. As a girlfriend, a mother, and a caring wife, she was exceptional in all her parts. We also got to see a little bit of the glamorous side of Mirnaa, and trust us, she was HOT!
A little munchkin stole the show with her cute little voice, and when she called her dad "policeodu," she made heads turn to her.
Another actor we would like to mention here is SI Shatru. He delivered a good supporting performance. His acting looked suspicious until the end, but as a cop and a good friend, he was in his element.
Others were just like passing clouds for us. Speaking of Neeraja, any other actor could’ve portrayed her role, there is nothing impactful to talk about.
Plus
Naresh acting
Take off
Interval
Minus
Poor narration
Bad writing
Poor execution
Lack of emotional connection
Analysis
The movie begins with a car crash. Shiva, who is already bleeding from his ears, drives the car to drop off his wife and daughter at his in-laws place, and en route, they meet with an accident. Shiva rushes to the hospital and admits his wife and daughter. The next day, he is informed that he didn’t bring anyone along with him. These initial scenes themselves create a lot of curiosity among viewers.
The opening elevation scene introducing Naresh as a cop with a dramatic fight in a dense forest was well shot. The movie has many twists. It goes back and forth, and this was narrated in a simple way without creating any confusion.
The first 20 minutes of the movie gave us a lot of hope about the rest of the movie; however, as mysteries unfold in the story, the film gets extremely boring. Not because of its story but because of its screenplay and narration. The film has an interesting storyline but fails to implement it.
Many unnecessary scenes, like the love track, songs just bumping in out of nowhere, and preachy dialogues, might turn you off. Since the core concept of the movie revolves around family, the love and romance track was dragged a little.
A benefit of the movie is the BGM, which, despite the plodding narration, kept the movie interesting throughout. Ugram doesn't seem to have the same emotional punch in his writing that Naandhi did. No matter how much the characters cry on-screen, the hook just isn't there. Even the filmmaking was passable.
Crisp narration and editing would've made the film an edge-of-your-seat thriller.
Conclusion: Overall, Ugram is a mystery thriller that has an interesting storyline and a good setup but falters in terms of execution. There were a few good sequences that worked, but unnecessary commercial elements and dull writing ruined the flow in places.
Vox verdict
A mediocre mystery thriller
Rating: 1.75/5
