After a long wait and struggle, Vijay Deverakonda's Taxiwala finally hits the screen today. Vijay has tried his hands on a horror-comedy for the very first time. It is a film that provides enough scope to prove the acting side of Vijay apart from gazing the screen with his stylish screen presence.

When you make a film on a horror theme, there are things that are ineludible like illogical narrative pattern. The USP of Taxiwala is the blend of horror with science fiction element. Apart from that, Taxiwala is a typical horror film that rides on the acting of Vijay Deverakonda.

The director has made sure to not confuse the audience with too many scientific terms. Rahul Sankrityan has to be credited for taking a complicated theory and glazing it perfectly with local cultural sentiments. The story looks so complicated yet very convincing.

The production value is pretty good; though the initial parts seemed a bit tacky but it got way better as the story moved forward. The car looked consummate for the script.

The start also was a bit slow and the first 20 minutes seemed a bit bland. Though the film takes its time to settle, once the core concept gets established it moves at a steady pace till the interval. Thereon the story is filled with twists and turns, some surprising while some predictable. Even though you might predict what's coming next, at times, you still will be hooked up to the screen since there are plenty other things happening too.

Taxiwala does have its share of problems, overstretched climax, conventional screenplay pattern and predictable narrative structure are some of it. A crisp and fastidious product could have made Taxiwala a complete entertainer.

From Arjun Reddy to Geetha Govindam and now this, Vijay Deverakonda is someone who perpetually tries to act in different type of films. He has done complete justice to his role; not in a single place the film looked artificial or like a sci-fi horror film. A lion’s share of the credit for that has to go to Vijay. Malavika Nair looks totally different from how she looked in her previous films. She compensates for her small screen time with an effortless performance. 

Madhunandan continues to impress with Taxiwala. He is a powerhouse of talent, his comedies are situational. His growth has presented him with a wider scope for performance in this film and he makes a clean sweep. Ravi Varma as a college professor does a very convincing job. It is not easy to act as a geeky professor but he did it just fine. Other supporting actors have perfectly delivered what was expected out of them.

All horror or sci-fi films are vulnerable to being questioned by the audiences about the logic. But the director has taken conscious measures to keep the logic simple and avoid any potential continuity errors.

Jakes Bejoy's musical score is a huge addition to this team and the song, Maate Vinadhuga, is in perfect sync with the script.