Film: Penguin
Cast: Keerthi Suresh
Direction: Eashwar Karthic
Producer: Karthik Subbaraj
Music Director: Santhosh Narayanan
Cinematography: Kharthik Phalani
Editor: Anil Krishna
OTT Release: Amazon Prime

iQlikMovies Rating:2.5/5

Penguin is the latest movie on digital platforms. The Tamil film got dubbed in the Telugu language along with Malayalam too. Marking the directorial debut of Eashvar Karthic, the film is produced by Karthik Subbaraj. The film is finally out and checks out the film's review here.

Story:
Ajay is the son of Rhythm (Keerthy Suresh). One day, Ajay goes missing and after 6 years, he returns back but becomes mute. Rhythm is pregnant again then and she tries to protect Ajay. But, Ajay's kidnapper returns again which brings troubles in Rhythm's life. Who kidnaps Ajay? What is the reason behind it? What happens in the end? Forms the story of the film.

Performances:
Except for Keerthy Suresh, everyone else is a new face for Telugu audiences. Keerthy Suresh, however, did a great job in terms of performance. But, except her, no one else did a decent job. No one's performance make us move. Keerthy Suresh carried the film with her from the start to end. Her effortless performance keeps the audience engaged. The makers could have taken a few noted artists in the film. Lingaa who plays Raghu is good while the actor who played Bhavana is also impressive in her character.

Technical Aspects:
Quality-wise, the film looks grand. The cinematography is top-notch and so is the background score. The film needs a theatrical experience but then, the narration is not engaging. Hence, the makers did the right thing to release on the OTT platform. The editing is neat. The dialogues could have been written well to avoid bringing the feel of a dubbing film. The production values are grand.

Review:

The first half of the film is engaging but the second half of the film falls flat completely. The film has a lot of scenes that do not have proper logic. Also, Keerthy Suresh acts like a normal woman with a pregnancy of 7 months. She walks casual and in a lot of scenes, she doesn't appear like a pregnant lady. The makers, however, took up a routine concept for the antagonist. The concept of jealousy has been witnessed in a lot of films already.

The conversation between Keerthy Suresh and the doctor could have been better and it is just boring and never-ending. The second half was dragged. Eashwar Karthic is a talented director but he should have put more effort into designing the screenplay in an engaging manner. Although the film is a thriller, there are only a few thrilling moments in the film and the second half is absolutely not engaging.

The film lacks freshness in content which is a major disappointment. On the whole, the film is good, in bits and pieces.

Plus Points:
Keerthy Suresh performance
Camera work
BGM

Minus Points:
Weak Story
Routine Conflict

Final Verdict: 'Penguin' falls short of expectations