Simba, which is a dark comedy film, revolves around the life of a lonely stoner - a guy who is always stoned and high, which is a very fresh idea. How his life changes after he meets a neighbour, forms the crux of the story. Does the movie actually take us on a fun ‘trip’ as promised? Read to find out.
Mahesh (Bharath), as seen from the trailer, is always high. He is so stoned that hallucinations have become a part and parcel of his life. However, one fine day, when he meets his neighbour Madhu, along with her dog Simba, his life seems to change. He falls in love with Madhu, but it’s not easy to win her. The rest of the story is about Mahesh’s friendship with Simba and whether Madhu accepts Mahesh's love or not.
Bharath as Mahesh, has played his part right. Portraying a dope-head is not easy, and he seems to pull it off with depressing faces and clueless expressions. His first dialogue in the movie instantly shows how irrelevant stoned guys talk, and thus, the director tries to set you to the tone of the movie. The tricky part here is, if the audience doesn't connect or believe with the character initially, it might seem like an over exaggeration of his hallucinations.
Ever since ‘The Lion King’ came out in 1994, dog owners have caught hold of the name ‘Simba’. Well, the heroine Madhu (Bhanu Sri Mehra) is no different. The day she met the Great Dane, she named it Simba right away. The heroine’s role doesn’t have a lasting impact as the character depth is very thin. There are also lip-sync issues.
Premgi as ‘Simba - the Great Dane’ is a one-of-it’s-kind-character. Not often you see a guy dressed up as a dog and casually chilling with the hero, and flirting with other dogs. One of the major highlights of the film is his performance as a dog. He has delivered his best with his signature body language, dialogue delivery and is entertaining at most places.
Laughter is induced at times with Premgi’s one-liners and quirky double-meaning dialogues and his face off with other dogs are hilarious. The Dog Panchayat scene with voices of various yesteryear actors and current actors is done creatively and will leave the audience in splits. However, in a few places, the director intends to bring out comedy, but falls flat.
Simba, as a movie, rises on a high during the first half as many questions are raised and a plot develops. However, the graph drastically comes down during the second half, with many question marks left open-ended, and a very thin storyline adds fuel to the fire. But if you can connect with the experimental attempt from the start and ignore few logic loopholes, Simba might engage and entertain you.
The visuals are impressive with some appealing VFX shots, and the smoky effect might take you on a real trip. Vishal Chandrasekhar’s bgm scores support the genre well. After all the trippiness and the ‘high’ ride, the director brings out a famous quote, similar to this - ‘Dog is man’s best friend’. This might put up a smile on your face, after a less engaging second half when compared to the first.
Overall Simba, has its own share of positives and negatives, but as previously said if you don't connect really well with the genre and the experiment, this film might fail to take you on a ‘high-trip’. Special mention to director Aravind Sridhar for attempting a different genre in Tamil Cinema.