Taxi Movie Review

The audience always welcome movies with good content provided the film's reach is strong. A lot of small movies are released one after another. Taxi is one unique action-packed thriller among them. The film revolves around the very rare human-made metal Californium 252 and has created a lot of buzz ever since its trailer was released. Filled with action, suspense, and an interesting plot that's perfect for youth audiences, the film is out in theatres.

It remains to be seen if this unique storyline by the debut director will resonate with all film buffs. Let's see the actual story of this movie in the review.

Plot:

Eeshwar (Vasant Sameer Pinnamaraju) is a young scientist who makes a breakthrough in a Californium 252 experiment. He discovers that this element can be used to detect gold deposits deep in the earth, treasures that would otherwise remain undiscovered. Eeshwar approaches the Mines Minister with a proposal that could make India the global leader in excavations. He requests financial support from the central government to conduct further experiments. However, Californium 252 is valued at a staggering Rs 180 crores per gram. Who would be ready to fund such a mammoth project? Politicians and the mafia see an opportunity to exploit Eeshwar's research. But they don't know that an honest man like Eeshwar is not for sale. So, they decide to take control of his personal life. They start accusations against Eeshwar and his wife (Almas Motiwala), who goes missing. Eeshwar tries his best to escape from them.

Meanwhile, Ujjwal (Surya Srinivas), an ethical hacker, lands a lucrative contract that he hopes will take his organization to the next level. To finance his ambitions, he turns to friends and family. However, the project hits a snag, and Ujjwal is left with mounting debts. To overcome his financial hurdles, he makes a life-changing decision. As fate would have it, Eeshwar and Ujjwal end up sharing a cab in unforeseen circumstances. During their ride, the cab gets attacked by an assaulter. After escaping from them, they learn that it was Vidyut (Naveen Pandita) who planned to attack them. Who is Vidyut? Why is Vidyut targeting Eeshwar and Ujjwal? What turn do their lives take after the attack? Will Eeshwar’s missing wife ever be found? What happened to the police cases and criminal charges against him? What is the role of the taxi driver (Saddam Hussain) in this story? To find out, you will have to watch the movie.

Analysis:

The director has crafted an intriguing story with unexpected twists that explore how the lives of two strangers, brought together by chance, are haunted by their pasts. The hero faces multiple challenges in the first half of the film, which keeps the audience on edge. The screenplay in the second half unveils how he overcomes these obstacles and resolves his problems.

While the film tries to incorporate a scientific subject into the plot and as many new artists are introduced at the beginning of the movie, there is a lot of confusion till the opening of the story. But after a while, once you get into the story, you will be interested to see what happens next. The proceedings make you feel like you are reading a detective novel. The director appears to have opted for a clear-cut and captivating screenplay that avoids confusing the audience. The story aims at capturing the minds of this generation of audience who are used to OTT content.

But the first twenty minutes of the story having a lot of content and the introduction of new artists can be confusing. When a story like this opens, the audience should connect with an emotion and it takes time. Also, suspense is very important in such thriller stories. The director effectively built suspense by instilling a feeling of danger and uncertainty regarding the hero's situation with the villain, which kept the audience in a state of anticipation and prevented them from predicting the outcome.

It is a complete director's film. There are more plus points in this movie with huge action scenes for this debut hero. A special attraction is the fight sequence designed against the backdrop of hacking at the end. Action lovers will definitely love all this.

Technicalities:

In his debut film, director Harish Sajja has attempted to present a unique storyline by intertwining technology with deception. It is commendable that he did not opt for the usual cliché masala subject. The dialogues in the movie, such as this are impressive: The strongest person is not the one who has physical strength but the one who has no weaknesses. If you create weakness, even God can be weakened.

The background music by Mark K Robin can be quite intense in certain parts of the film, although it may not always seem necessary. However, the song featured in the first half is quite impressive. The camera work by Urukunda Reddy is a highlight with rich and visually appealing shots. The production values of the film are also commendable. It appears that more focus should have been given to the dubbing though.

Artists' performances:

For a newcomer, Vasant Sameer Pinnamaraju's performance is commendable and he manages to hold the audience's attention throughout. His dialogue delivery and action sequences are reminiscent of actors like Rana and Prabhas, and he shows the potential to be a successful action hero. However, the heroines’ characterization in the film is average. Surya Srinivas also gives a noteworthy performance. Naveen Pandita who portrayed the villain will leave a fresh impression on the audience. Saddam Hussein possesses a strong sense of comedic timing.

Highlights:

Vasant Sameer, the debut hero acting 
A non-routine and interesting story
Rerecording
Fights
Dialogues
Screenplay 

Drawbacks:

Confusing for a while at first

Can you watch this film? This is the best choice for those who like thrillers and action movies.

Punch line: Taxi is an action thriller