| Awe | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Prasanth Varma |
| Written by | Prasanth Varma |
| Produced by | Nani Prashanti Tipirneni |
| Starring | Kajal Aggarwal Nithya Menen Regina Cassandra Eesha Rebba Priyadarshi Pullikonda Srinivas Avasarala Murali Sharma |
| Cinematography | Karthik Gattamneni |
| Edited by | Goutham Nerusu |
| Music by | Mark K. Robin |
Production company | Wall Poster Cinema |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Telugu |
| Box office | ₹13.25 crore[1] |
Awe is a 2018 IndianTelugu-languagepsychologicalcross genre film written and directed byPrasanth Varma (in his feature debut). It is produced byNani andPrashanti Tipirneni under their maiden production house Wall Poster Cinema. The film features an ensemble cast ofKajal Aggarwal,Nithya Menen,Regina Cassandra,Eesha Rebba,Srinivas Avasarala,Priyadarshi Pullikonda andMurali Sharma. It also features the voices ofNani andRavi Teja.Awe deals with issues likechild abuse,sexual abuse,lesbianism, anddrug abuse.
The central plot of the film revolves around Kali (Kajal Aggarwal), and presents a complex narrative structure, weaving together six distinct yet interconnected stories that unfold simultaneously within the same restaurant. The interconnected stories involve various characters, each representing different facets of Kali's psyche due to hermultiple personality disorder (MPD). The film's narrative reaches its resolution when all the characters, except Kali, are revealed to be split personalities of Kali, representing various traumatic phases of her life. The restaurant, a symbolic space, becomes the stage for the convergence of these identities. The film culminates in Kali shooting herself, resulting in the deaths of all the characters within the restaurant, signifying the end of her internal struggle.
The film was released worldwide on 16 February 2018 to positive reviews from critics and audiences and went on to become a commercial success at the box office. At the66th National Film Awards, the film won the award forBest Special Effects, andBest Make-up.[2]
While working as a janitor, Shiva hopes to create atime travelling machine so as to meet his parents, whom he has not met. Parvathy, a woman who uses a wheelchair, shows up and asserts herself to be his future self and claims that she has traveled back in time to restrain their parents' deaths, which are supposed to occur in an hour. Nala, a down-on-his-luck man, desperately tries to find employment and applies for the post of a chef at a restaurant owned by Chitra. Despite being unaware of how to cook, he manages to fulfill the tasks by followingYouTube cooking videos. To his surprise, he realizes that he could hear Nani, agoldfish, and Chanti, abonsai tree, talking in the kitchen and that he is the only one able to converse and communicate with them.
While dining with her parents at a restaurant, Radha informs them about her lover Krish. Krish shows up, and Radha's parents are stunned to realize that Krish aka Krishnaveni is a woman and that Radha is a lesbian. They strictly oppose their same-sex marriage but are touched when Krish tells them that she is Radha's psychiatrist and that Radha has been a victim of constant sexual abuse, which transformed her sexual orientation. Meanwhile, Moksha, an eight-year-old girl, assists her absent mother at the latter's restaurant and performs magic tricks for the customers. Yogi, an egoistic magician, pays a visit to the restaurant and clashes with Moksha but ends up being tormented by a mysteriousmagic master in the restaurant's restroom, who could be God Himself.
Mira, a drug-addicted barista at the restaurant, conspires with her boyfriend Sugar to purloin the money of a wealthy investor, who is expected to visit the restaurant. Mira discovers a necklace inside a tree at the restaurant and takes it for herself. She serves a regular customer Raghuram, whose residence is told to have been at the place where the restaurant is currently present and that his late beloved wife is claimed to have been buried under the tree where Mira found the necklace. She witnesses Raghuram conversing with his late wife and is horrified upon seeing her ghost. Elsewhere, Kali, an evidently despondent woman, signs an organ donation form and a note which reads,"I am going to conduct a mass murder, and I plead not guilty".
All the above events, except for that of Kali, are revealed to have been taking place at the same restaurant in parallel. Meanwhile, Sugar tries to execute his plan to loot the investor by instructing Mira to turn the lights off but she switches them on upon being threatened by the ghost of Raghuram's wife, foiling Sugar's plan. Neither caught nor suspected, he sits calmly and waits for another opportunity to accomplish the task. Moksha begins to play a magic trick for the investor, inadvertently distracting him from the money which causes Sugar to steal it. Nevertheless, the investor catches him red-handed. Sugar takes Moksha as a human shield, but Yogi messes him up using his magic tricks, paving way for himself and Krish to combat Sugar. However, the gun is inadvertently fired, and Radha is shot in her chest. A panicked Sugar tries to run away, but Nala restrains him by hitting him with a stick upon being motivated by Nani. Krish and Radha's parents try to rush Radha to an hospital, but Parvathy commands Shiva to restrict them and states that if anyone will leave the restaurant, their parents shall die due to thebutterfly effect. She further tells them that she traveled back in time numerous times to prevent them from stepping out of the restaurant but has continued to fail. Abruptly, lights begin to flicker, and tremors occur in the restaurant with inhabitants unable to take control of the situation. Elsewhere, Kali shoots herself, and along with her, all the characters in the restaurant die.
It is revealed that Moksha, Radha, Mira, Krish, Nala, Shiva, Yogi, and Parvathy aresplit personalities of Kali, representing various traumatic phases of her life. She has committed suicide to ease the burden she has been carrying due to her disease, prompting all the characters to die with her.
Nani met directorPrasanth Varma who narrated the storyline to him. Nani reportedly loved the script and decided to produce the film himself. On 25 November 2017, the actor unveiled the title poster of the film at a star-studded event. The film was bankrolled by the actor's debut production house, Wallposter Cinema and co-produced byPrashanti Tipirneni, who worked as a costume designer for theBaahubali film series.[3]
The film features an ensemble cast, which includesKajal Aggarwal,Nithya Menen,Regina Cassandra,Eesha Rebba,Srinivas Avasarala,Murali Sharma,Priyadarshi Pullikonda,Rohini andDevadarshini. Nani voices a fish, who is one of the two voice-over narrators whileRavi Teja was brought in to play as the second of the two voice-over narrators, featuring as the voice of a bonsai.
WhileKarthik Ghattamaneni,Sahi Suresh and Gautham Nerusu were reported to be the cinematographer, art director and editor respectively. Newcomer Mark K Robin was hired to compose the score and songs.
The film deals with mental illness, abuse, gender and sexuality. Kali (played byKajal Aggarwal), is the main protagonist who is suffering frommultiple personality disorder, at the end of the film.MPD is a mental illness characterized by alternating between multiple personality states and memory loss.
The concept oflesbianism portrayed in the film, became a popular topic since Telugu films were subjected to strict censor formalities while portraying lesbianism in films.Affair is the first Telugu film to portray lesbianism.[citation needed] However, it did not have a theatrical release, since theCBFC refused to approve the film. It was directly released onYouTube.[4] The film was withdrawn and sent back to theCensor Board.[5] But later it was released uncut.[6] TheSupreme Court of India invalidated part ofSection 377 of theIndian Penal Code making homosexuality legal in India in September 2018.[7]
In an interview with Haricharan Pudipeddi ofHindustan Times,Nithya Menen stated "When Prashant pitched the character, I was excited. As artists, we come across many stories but something like Awe doesn't come often; it's rare. I didn't see it as a lesbian character. I accepted the offer because I thought it'd be exciting and challenging. I love doing different, edgy roles."[8]
The film score and soundtrack were composed by newcomer Mark K Robin. Initially, the film features only one song titled "Theme of Awe" which was played in the opening and end credits of the film. The song was digitally released inYouTube and other streaming platforms on 9 February 2018, while it was launched at theRadio Mirchi FM Station inHyderabad on 13 February 2018, in the presence of the film's cast and crew.[9] Sung by Sharon, with lyrics written by Krishna Kanth,The Times of India stated that "The song is tailor made for the movie."[10]Lahari Music released the opening credits and ending credits video on 30 June and 1 July respectively, which features the theme song. Both the videos were released on two differentYouTube channels.[11]
The pre-release event took place at B. R. Ambedkar University Grounds atHyderabad on 31 January 2018, where the film's trailer was released and received positive responses.[12]
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Awe was released worldwide on 16 February 2018. The film was premiered exclusively in theUnited States, a day before its original release, on 15 February 2018.[13]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes,100% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8/10.[14]
Neetishta Nyayapati, fromThe Times of India, rated 4 out of 5 stars, and stated that "Go watch this film if you're looking for something definitely out of the box and fresh, 'Awe' will not disappoint you."[15]The Indian Express gave it 4 stars stating that "Awe has high entertainment value, strong emotions, progressive characters, thrills, chills, comedy and some philosophy. Prasanth could have even made this film work without big actors or fancy sets in it."[16]Hindustan Times rated the film 5/5, summarising that the film is "technically brilliant".[17]
India Today rated 3 out of 5 stars, stating that "Awe has several astonishing moments only if you can look past the sequences that are not in sync with the story."[18] Behindwoods rated 3 out of 5, stating it as "a welcome trendsetter"[19] Deccan Chronicle rated 4 out of 5 stars, and summarised that "The narration is slow and be careful… If you do not understand the climax, you do not understand the film. The film's key point is the last 15 minutes in which the director very cleverly reveals the connection between the characters. Prashanth Varma has tried something different here. People, who are on the lookout for a new genre cinema, should watch this film definitely."[20]Baradwaj Rangan ofFilm Companion South wrote "Awe certainly leaves you thinking – about the film itself, and about what an exciting time it is in Telugu cinema, with so many rebels plotting these little coups against one of the country's most deeply entrenched cinematic empires."[21]
In a contrast review, Firstpost rated 3 out of 5 and stated that "The moment you figure out an answer, you will know whetherAwe! is 'Awesome' or 'Awful'. The truth lies somewhere in between."[22] Indiaglitz rated 2.75/5, and gave a verdict: "AWE is a crafty anthology movie which relies too heavily on the strength of its climax. Too psychological, too poetic at times. The lengthiness of many scenes makes one say, 'It's more of the same'. Genre shifts were an oversold idea. The performances are praiseworthy. Technical departments put up a solid show."[23]Sify rated 2.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "Awe is psychological thriller of a traumatized woman told in episodic stories. There are many individual episodes that are strangely funny but the overall drama seems too far-fetched. The final twist in the tale is unconvincing. Second half is mostly bore."[24]
Celebrities such as actorsRahul Ravindran,Anupama Parameswaran,Adivi Sesh,Vennela Kishore,Shashank, directorMadhura Sreedhar Reddy, producerShobu Yarlagadda and costume designerNeeraja Kona, praisedNani and Prashanth Varma for the latter's scripting and direction and the former's production values.[25][26] The film was presented at theWorld Congress of Psychiatry inMexico, by an Indian medical student from the US who presented at the conference as "Dissociative Identity Disorder in Indian Cinema."[27]