Ride - Review

Ramesh Varma has made an effort to resurrect himself with the film Ride which is a mixture of love, and action. There are two heroes and both of them fight for a bike. While for one it is a passion, for another it is a necessity. How and why they clash for one bike is the subject.

Arjun (Nani), an engineering college student longs for a bike. However, his father (Ahuti Prasad) does not fulfil his wish. Mahesh (Tanish) hailing from a middle class family has two sisters. His father (Kasi Viswanath) is a retired man and his family survives on his pension. Mahesh wants to help his father and searches for a job. He gets a job in Kapil Chit Funds as a collection agent, but the manager puts a condition that Mahesh should have a two-wheeler. Mahesh"s mother (Tulasi) sells off some silver articles and he purchases a biketo join for the job. One day, Mahesh"s father suffers a stroke, and Mahesh loses his bike while bringing medicines. Though he lodges a police complaint it is of no avail. Mahesh goes jobless without the bike.

One day Mahesh finds Arjun riding his bike and they fight with each other for the bike. Mahesh learns that Arjun has purchased the bike at chor bazaar after winning a bike race. They finally come to an understanding on the advice of a priest to use the bike to suit the convenience of each other by dividing the day. They keep their promise and use the bike judiciously.

One day, some goons attack Arjun and grievously injure him. Mahesh who finds him in an unconscious state, admits him in the hospital and informs Arjun"s parents. After that incident, both Arjun and Mahesh become good friends. At this juncture, again their bike goes missing. The person who stole their bike calls them and plays tricks upon them. Arjun and Mahesh come to know that he is the brother of Arjun"s lover Puja (Aksha) and is that he is in love Mahesh"s girlfriend Rani (Swetha Basu Prasad). He tries to take revenge against the two boys by playing with their bike.

In the climax, Arjun decides to participate in a motorcycle race and get the bike as a prize to present it to Mahesh as it is a necessity for him. Mahesh too wants to get back the bike from the person who stole the bike as Arjun has a passion for the bike. Each of them try in their own way and get two bikes. The film ends on a happy note as the problem gets solved, but they keep exchanging their bikes as usual and continue their friendship forever.

PLUS:
Director Ramesh Varma has penned a typical story where he has perfectly mixed several elements like family relations, sentiment, love, action, friendship and what not. Though he loses grip on certain occasions, he regains the grip very fast. The screenplay has been written in such a way that the director has kept a duet or fight to check the monotony. It is a director"s film and he has been able to extract the talent from young artistes well. Heroes Tanish of Nachavule-fame and Nani of Ashta Chemma-fame have given their best and are totally involved in their characters. Shweta Basu Prasad and Aksha have filled the glamour slot and have competed with each other. Even the action scenes have been choreographed nicely and they appear very naturally. The portrayal of the family relations and sentiment too is good. Senior artistes like Kasi Viswanatham, Ahuti Prasad, Sudha and Tulasi have done justice to their roles. Another highlight of the film is the music by debutant Hemachandra. All the tunes are inspiring with fast beat.

MINUS:
The narration is a little slow and the director has ignored some glaring cinematic mistakes. When a person lodges a complaint that his bike is missing with the police, why can"t he go to the police to lodge another complaint that he has seen his bike with another person. Likewise, why does the director want the parents to realize things only after a huge argument with their children. None of the fathers would think along the lines of Ahuti Prasad these days. The way Naani has explained the mindset of the present generation youth is really inspiring. But for such petty and silly mistakes, the film is worth watching as a whole.
REMARKS:
With overstretching the first half, the director has tried to complete the film in a huff-huff manner in the climax. Though the tunes are good with fast beat, the music is overpowered the lyric and it is not audible at all. The director has failed to establish how Tanish gets back his bike by escaping from the speeding train. After a long time, the director has chosen to portray a bike chase on screen, which were in vogue in 80s and 90s. Production values of Sri Sai Ganesh Productions are good and the producer has spent a fortune on the special sets erected for the picturisation of songs, of course, he has been able to save a lot by avoiding canning of songs abroad.

Cast: Tanish, Nani, Shweta Basu Prasad, Aksha, Ahuti Prasad, Viswanath Kasi, Tulasi, Sudha, Kinnera, Gowrav, Brahmanandam, Hema, Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam, Adarsh, Satyam Rajesh, Praveen, Bikshu, Deekshitulu, Rajitha, Gayatri, Ushasri and others

Credits: Lyrics – Bhaskarabhatla, Music – Hemachander, Dialogues – Sashank Vennelakanti, Cinematography – Shyam K Naidu,, Editing – Marthand K. Venkatesh, Art – Chinna, Action – Ram-Lakshman, Presents – B Padmavati, Producer – Bellamkonda Suresh, story, screenplay and direction – P Ramesh Varma.

Banner: Sri Sai Ganesh Productions