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Annabelle Sethupathi Movie Review: Partially Enjoyable Fantasy Comedy That Demands To Turn Your Brain Off!
Annabelle Sethupathi, the fantasy comedy that features Taapsee Pannu in the lead role, has finally premiered on Disney Plus Hotstar. The movie, which features Vijay Sethupathi in an extended cameo appearance, is directed by newcomer Deepak Sundarrajan. Annabelle Sethupathi has garnered the attention of the audiences much before its release with its stellar star cast and promising trailer.
Did the Taapsee Pannu-Vijay Sethupathi starrer live up to the expectations? Read Annabelle Sethupathi movie review here to know...
What's Yay:
Comedy in parts
Visuals & Production design
Romance portions
What's Nay
Lazy writing and execution
Artificiality in staging and dialogues
Unnecessary song numbers
Plot
A young con-wan woman named Rudhra (Taapsee Pannu) and her family enter a palace that was built by a king named Veera Sethupathi (Vijay Sethupathi). Inside the palace, they encounter a bunch of ghosts who think she is their only means to salvation. This leads to several shocking revelations and hilarious incidents, which eventually unravel Rudra's past connection with the palace and king Veera.
Script & Direction
Director Deepak Sundarrajan makes his debut with Annabelle Sethupathi, which had all possibilities to emerge as a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy comedy. But sadly, the idea that looks extremely promising on papers has been made into a half-baked movie experience that works in parts. While both the fantasy and comedy elements end up mediocre, it is the romance that makes the film tolerable.
While the movie scores with its excellent visuals and some genuine moment of laughter, it is the artificiality in the staging, dialogues, and even performances that make the film an average watch. Despite having a stellar star cast that features some of the most talented artists of the industry, Annabelle Sethupathi sadly fails to live up to the hype.
Lazy writing and execution are the biggest issues of this film. And our films definitely need to stop cashing on body shaming comedies, which is anything but funny. Even the scenes that had the most potential are staged without conviction, and the dialogues that were supposed to evoke laughter, just fall flat. However, this Taapsee Pannu-Vijay Sethupathi starrer will definitely appeal to kids and audiences who are ready to turn their brains off.
Performances
Taapsee Pannu has delivered an earnest performance as Rudra (special mention to dubbing artist Deepa Venkat). Vijay Sethupathi, who makes an extended cameo appearance is at his usual best. The laudable chemistry between Taapsee and Sethupathi makes the romance portions of the film quite enjoyable.
Yogi Babu, despite heavily relying on his signature style to generate humour, shines at parts. The rest of the star cast including Jagapathi Babu, Raadhika Sarathkumar, Rajendra Prasad, Devadarshini, Chethan, and others have done justice to their respective parts, despite the characters being criminally underwritten.
Technical Aspects
The production design and excellent visuals are unarguably the biggest strengths of Annabelle Sethupathi. The palace, which is the backdrop of the story, is simply a visual delight. However, the same brilliance cannot be seen in the costume designing (especially Vijay Sethupathi's Raja look). The editing is fine, while the VFX team has done a decent job.
However, the music and background score of Annabelle Sethupathi disappoint big time. When it comes to the songs, only the romantic numbers stand out. Some of the songs were just unnecessary in the proceedings. The extra loud background score definitely needed to be toned down.
Verdict
Annabelle Sethupathi is a partially enjoyable fantasy comedy, that works at parts if you are willing to turn your brain off. But this Taapsee Pannu-Vijaysethupathi starrer will disappoint the audiences, who are expecting a well-made comedy entertainer.
