Shreelancer movie review: Largely constipated deliverance of a relevant story

Directed By: Sandeep Mohan
Produced By: Giju John
Cast: Arjun Radhakrishnan, Salmin Sheriff, Monica Mahendru
Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 1.5/5

Plight of a freelancer? If you are or were not one, you know not! That was what primarily led me to find out more about Sandeep Mohan’s latest offering ‘Shreelancer’. This one claims to be an independent film, and ends up looking like an amateurish yet ambitious short film. While you do connect to moments of the protagonist’s little disclosed crisis, the film on a large note, goes haywire. At the end, it will leave you with almost nil repossess.

Shreepad Naik (Arjun Radhakrishnan) is a Bangalore-based freelance writer who is stuck between the love for passion and necessity of possession; a very familiar conflict, you see!  Shree’s mother has passed away. His old, retired father remains anxious most of the time, and pursues the son to take up a full time job. Shree, however, belongs to the league that would explore life with little worry about materialistic possessions, if given a chance of course. In the mean time, he ends up going to a trip that changes his life forever.

If we look at the film with the purpose it wanted to carry, it pretty much makes sense. Third world countries got a fair obsession with white collar jobs, with India being a leader. You’d probably not look at the very handsome, well dressed and chivalrous guy next to you if he was a waiter instead of being an IIM graduate. Hurts? Thus, truth. But what goes wrong with ‘Shreelancer’ is the fact that no larger philosophy is found. It rather remains the story of crisis as lived by an individual, which later turns into a victorious one.

Arjun Radhakrishnan, who has two short films (‘The White Feather’ and ‘Shut Up’), is a new name to Hindi cinema. He doesn’t fit as the quintessential Bollywood hero, but he has got what it takes to be a good performer. Arjun, in fact, can be called the saving grace of this film, if any. Veteran theatre actor Salmin Sheriff is a maestro at his own craft. But here, it is probably the script that restricts him from delivering his finest performance. Monica Mahendru, in a brief role, is decent.

Director Sandeep Mohan’s last stint was one of the films in ‘X: Past Is Present’, which was a collaborative effort by 11 filmmakers. Mohan, who seems intrigued with the idea of a content-backed film, might consider concentrating on film’s production value. ‘Shreelancer’ is mostly shot disastrously; so much that even the most perfect scenic beauty looks unimpressive. Further, the screenplay lags to a great deal and moments never dense up. Just like a filmmaker, the viewer as well needs a purpose and Mohan, at least here, doesn’t succeed in providing us one.

The soundtrack, although, is a relief. Soothing and subtly melodious songs cut the boredom created by a monotonous narration. Not sure if it was due to a hurried post production process, but there are noticeable jumps in editing.

We say, you aren’t going to miss anything if you give this one a miss!

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