Directed by: K. V. Guhan
Produced by: Mahesh S Koneru
Written by: KV Guhan
Screenplay by: KV Guhan
Starring: Nandamuri Kalyan Ram, Shalini Pandey, Nivetha Thomas, and others
Music by: Shekar Chandra
Cinematography: KV Guhan
Edited by: Tammiraju
Production Company: East Coast Production
Release date: March 1, 2019
Country: India
Language: Telugu

iQlikMovies Rating: 2.75/5

Nandamuri Kalyan Ram who recently played the role of his father Nandamuri Harikrishna in 'NTR Mahanayakudu' movie has come up with yet another film '118' in which he played the lead role. Cinematographer KV Guhan marked his directorial debut in Tollywood with this movie. The promotional material of the film itself has hinted that the movie is going to be a suspense action thriller and the film has been carrying a decent pre-release buzz. Kalyan Ram has pinned all his hopes on this movie. Shalini Pandey of 'Arjun Reddy' fame and Nivetha Thomas played the female leads in this movie. Amid high expectations, the movie has finally hit the screens today on March 1st, 2019. Here is the review of the film.

Story:

Gautham (Kalyan Ram) is an investigative journalist who gets fascinated by a strange dream that appears to him of a girl Aadhya (Nivetha) getting beaten up by unknown people. After starting to chase this mystery, he experiences strange situations that turns his life into a complete mess. Who is Aadhya? What is her story? What happened to Gautham in the end? Forms the story of the film.

Performances:

Nandamuri Kalyan Ram is undoubtedly the show stealer for the film. His energetic performance in the movie added more strength for the film. Especially during the action sequences, his performance is outstanding. It is evident that the actor has worked hard for the film. Shalini Pandey looked effortlessly beautiful in the movie. She carries her character with grace which will grab the attention of the audience. Notably, in the first half, her romantic scenes with Kalyana Ram came out well. Nivetha Thomas is a perfect pick, and she has justified her role well. Nasser got an exciting role in this movie, and he has delivered an honest performance. Though his screen time is less, he has delivered an energetic performance. Prabhas Sreenu gave his best performance. The rest of the cast also made their presence felt.

Technical Aspects:

Not only as a director, but KV Guhan gets a more significant piece of cake with because of his cinematography as well. He has produced some colourful and intriguing visuals for the film. Production values by East Coast Production banner are super rich. Music by Shekar Chandra is decent. Keeping the songs aside, his background music, especially during the action sequences, is lovely. Editing by Tammiraju is clean.

Analysis:

The story is the major highlight of the film. Despite having a solid story, director KV Guhan has handled it effortlessly. Though there are some boring scenes in the movie, the director succeeded in making the audience stick to their chairs. His narration is excellent and deserves appreciation. The film was made on a decent budget which is a decisive factor. Though Guhan tried his best not to disclose the mystery angle, the film's story becomes predictable at times. The narration also falls flat, especially towards the second half of the film. The first half has some decent thrilling elements while the second half of the movie tries to get into more detail than required. The clues that the director tried to insert in the script did a bit of damage to the execution. The flashback which could be more on emotional terms ends up usually leaving no scope for a proper drama. All in all, the film had its moments but still not a product that can dominate the box-office this weekend.

Plus Points:

Performances
Camera Work
Dialogues
Screenplay

Minus Points:

Narration
Predictable Plot

Final verdict: One-Time watchable predictable thriller!

Review By Ram