The trailer of the movie Kudukku 2025 somewhere gave us a clue that the plot of this film revolves around cyber security, privacy, etc. The movie was placed in the year 2025. And the idea is here to show a dangerous side of technology where our personal space gets compromised. But the way it has been conceived feels unexciting, and instead of being a smart small-budget film about the future, it is placing a conflict that doesn’t really demand a 2025 setting.
So the story happens in 2025, and our hero Maaran is a gym trainer. He has a major crush on his sister’s friend Eve, who is a mysterious character. Eve is conscious of her privacy and looks at everyone suspiciously as she fears someone is tracking her. We have a parallel track that shows the life of Maaran’s friend Varun who recently married. Ultimately, the movie focuses on the reason behind Eve’s skeptical attitude.
Tracking someone without their consent is the idea that drives this movie. Well, we already know how apps have access to such data even now, and when you see all this gadget-oriented introduction to the film, you will feel that the film will explore something in that space. But the movie lingers around certain points in the screenplay for far too long and when the whole mystery gets revealed, what you get is a case of a toxic stalker. And with all those fights happening in the last quarter, the runtime extends furthermore.
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Krishna Shankar, as Maaran, is in his usual elements, and the character was something that was in his safe zone. In my opinion, the most impressive thing about the movie was Durga Krishna’s performance as Eve. Eve is a character with a peculiar nature, but at the same time, her questions and demands are sensible. Durga cracked the correct pitch for that character’s emotional vulnerability. Rammohan and Swasika were good in their respective roles. Shine Tom Chacko was fine as the less eccentric antagonist.
Kudukku 2025 is a thought that runs out of ideas very quickly. Bilahari starts off with this tracking device and hints of Maaran having supernatural reflexes and stuff. But as soon as the romance begins in the primary track, along with the trust issues in the Varun-Jwala track, the movie starts to feel insipid. There is a moment where Aju Varghese’s character warns Maaran that he is surrounded by many “Kudukk”s, and it feels like a sequence created just to justify the movie’s title. When the mystery behind the villain is unveiled, there is no wow factor o its credit. The cinematography by Abhimanyu Vishwanath tries to use color to elevate the emotional graph of scenes, but the blandness of the content somewhere makes it a little too obvious. The songs are really good, but the placement isn’t that smooth.
Kudukku 2025 is stuck in a phase where the writing is confused about whether to really go for out-of-the-box experimentation or if it should just follow a safe formula. And this confusion results in a product that is constantly trying without necessarily achieving anything. Barring a commendable performance from Durga Krishna, Kudukku 2025 is a half-baked experiment.
Barring a commendable performance from Durga Krishna, Kudukku 2025 is a half-baked experiment.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
