BT Rating: (2.5/5)

And the Script is the Stalker!

Psycho Movie Review By Raju Shanbhag

For more than a year, the lead cast of the film Psycho was guarded secretively as if people’s lives depended on it. But now, after having watched the film, this bizarre decision looks almost justified. Because as a film, Psycho belongs completely to the director, cinematographer and the music director of the film; please note that the writer is not included in the list.

The writer of the film Psycho gets his inspirations from many places, notably from Darr, where Shah Rukh plays the stuttering psychopath who stalks Juhi Chawla. Apart from the main storyline, the writers of Psycho carefully preserve the sequences where SRK talks to his dead mother, and refuses to believe that she is dead. But it appears as if they have a soft corner for our leading man and try valiantly to justify his stalking behavior by making him a soft hearted lover. And in an effort to do so, they take out the most important aspect of such films; the eeriness.

A mentally ill stalker haunting a seemingly helpless lady is the stuff thrillers are made of. In spite of all its fallacies and a buffoon looking Sunny Deol, Darr, from which this film is inspired, had a tight narration and a believable character in SRK. But the character of Dhanush in the film starts off as an “I-Mean-Business” type if stalker and ends up as a lachrymose that is still a child at heart. In spite of director Devadatta’s best efforts, this takes out the interest in the film and makes it worth a watch only because of some imaginative direction and excellent camera work. For most part of the film, the writer looks confused as to whether to make Dhanush an all out evil stalker or just a mental case needing urgent attention.

Debutant director Devadatta, who has earlier assisted in films such as Aham Premasmi, does a decent job. Couple of scenes (especially the one where Anita first enters the Psycho’s house) are really well executed. May be he knows that his story will not haunt the audience for more than 2 hours. So he chooses a way of moving camera at crooked angles, soft lights and fast editing to always keep the audience guessing; but still, the lack of an interesting script is as clear as crystal in this film.

Sabhakumar’s camera moves like a serpent in the dark alleys of the stalkers house, exploring and uncovering the story while itself becoming an important element of the film in the end. Although the stretching out and moving the camera looks exaggerated at places, it still looks good enough.

And of course, the music. We all know how big a hit the music has become. What is pleasing to see now is that the background music by Raghu Dixit which perfectly accentuates the gloomy mood of the film. Really, if Raghu can maintain this standard, he can be very useful for the Kannada industry.

Surprisingly, newcomer Dhanush hasn’t got much to do in the film, even though the entire film is based upon his character. He wears multiple caps (maybe it’s inspired from Himesh Reshammiya, who stalks the audience in his own musical ways!) and looks stubbornly in various directions for a better part of the film. Another debutant, Anitha’s acting skills are good, although she doesn’t exactly look like a girl worth stalking, if you judge her purely by her looks. Padmaja Rao has almost done a PhD in performing such roles and as usual, she is efficient. It seems that Vijayasarathi mistakenly believes that the film is named after his character and acts like a Psycho himself.

When you come out of the theatre, all that remains in your mind is a bunch of brilliantly executed scenes trying desperately to cover up an unimaginative script. If you are one of those people who think that style matters more than the substance, go watch Psycho; you will not be disappointed.