Rowdy Boys’ movie review: Music salvages this glitzy launch vehicle
The Hindu
A patchy college drama that launches Ashish Reddy is helped hugely by Devi Sri Prasad’s music
The Telugu film Rowdy Boys, which introduces producer Dil Raju’s nephew Ashish Reddy as the leading man, is like a cocktail of things that don’t blend together well, but is palatable now and then. It tries to be a coming-of-age story of an aimless guy caught in campus wars, finding romance and a purpose in life. Binding the story together is Devi Sri Prasad’s music. His medley of compositions in the last hour perks up the film.
The story unfolds in two campuses — a medical college and an engineering institute — situated beside one another. The rivalry between the two colleges gets fuelled whenever students from one campus try to court a girl from the other campus. The film opens with a cringe-inducing scene showing engineering boys harassing a female medical college student. How the boys redeem themselves is told through a long-winded story of Akshay (Ashish Reddy) who falls in love with Kavya (Anupama Parameswaran), a medical college student two years senior to him.
The first act establishes Akshay as an incorrigible brat who causes heartburn to his father (Srikanth Iyengar). A lavishly mounted intro song involves students of both campuses and later shows their ugly battles. At one point, Akshay waves his college flag from atop a burning bus and is proud of being talked about in news channels.
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Sustainability is not an add-on, but stamped firmly into the process: every piece is biodegradable, waste-free and unembellished, free from glitter or beads. “Products should be sustainable and biodegradable so that our planet is not harmed,” says Anu Elizabeth Alexander, a student of Sishya, Adyar. At a recent exhibition, the stars she made sold the fastest, followed by the small diamonds. “I would like people to know about the process, how it is created, and that it is sustainable,” says Anu. Infanta Leon from Kotturpuram developed an interest in crochet as a teenager. It was a hobbyhorse that evolved into a steed that would help her embark on a journey of identity-shaping creative engagement. She started making Christmas-themed decor two years ago, spurred by a desire to craft safe, eco-friendly toys for children. “With a toddler at home, and my elder child sensitive to synthetic materials, I wanted to create items that were gentle, durable and tactile,” she explains. Her earliest creations were small amigurumi toys which gradually evolved into ornaments that could adorn Christmas trees with warmth and charm.
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