Arjun Reddy

Arjun is a very good medical student. He also has no control over his anger; he fights on the field, shouts at his teachers and comes to the edge of expulsion. He sees a new student, Preeti, and declares her his, without asking anyone. A relationship begins and holds for a while. Then her family objects and she is married to someone else. Arjun falls apart. He goes on working as a surgeon but operates while drinking and begins to destroy himself. Sandeep Reddy Vanga writes and directs. Vijay Deverakonda plays Arjun and Shalini Pandey plays Preeti. The film was a large commercial success in Telugu cinema and made Vijay Deverakonda a known name overnight. It was later remade in Hindi and that version did large business too. What was argued about most is the lead's behaviour; the narrative does not criticise his possessiveness and closeness to violence, and that started a wide argument. The director defended the film against those criticisms and his statements enlarged the argument further. Technically it is strong; despite the length the pace is built and the music works inside the narrative. That the character Preeti barely speaks was the common point of the criticism. Who it is for: people who watch Telugu cinema and long character driven drama. Who it is not for: the lead behaves indefensibly, the narrative keeps no distance from it, and the running time is very long.