An ordinary take on marriage

Ram Gopal Varma has so far been making films more or less in the action genre with dollops of violence – rather in ‘The Godfather’ mould. This Hollywood film’s fixation continued in quite a few of his of late films.

Thankfully in his latest endeavour, ‘365 Days’, he has shifted genre to make a film on marriage. The fact that he was making a romantic film was one reason for curiosity as to how he would handle it. Alas, apart from shifting tracks, Varma has certainly nothing much new to tell in ‘365 Days’.

The two main protagonists Apoorva (Nandu) and Shreya (Anaika Soti) meet at friend Prashant’s (Krishnudu’s) place and strike a bond. Slowly they fall in love and get married. It is then that problems begin to surface. They realise they are not the same as they were when in love. The small arguments, anger, ego and all the issues set in so much so, they file for divorce.

There are references made to other couples like Prashant and Neha (who have adjusted to each other by compromise) and one of Shreya’s friends (played by Sathya) who in fact accepts her husband back even after he has an affair with a heroine! And some months after the divorce, Apoorva and Shreya meet at a party. There is no animosity (which was there between them) and both seem cordial.

It looks as though they are two different mellowed-down individuals. What they do next forms the story. The film follows the stereotypical path with a predictable outcome. Varma seems to have largely drawn from real instances around him and hence portrayed the happenings/events/behaviour patterns from life in a chronological fashion. So, in that sense the film is somewhat realistic.

Marriage is an institution, a norm which people have grappled with and continue to do so. Varma has tried to see this in his own way. He has skimmed the surface of marriage and tried to present his point of view. However, he could have added some flavour through his screenplay which is rather tepid. It induces a sense of déjà vu (on account of the theme) and ennui in due course.

Performances by the lead pair Nandu and Anaika are just about okay and don’t really elevate the film to a large extent. Although the film is short there are some unnecessary songs too. The production values too do not create any impact. ‘365 Days’ is not engrossing enough to catch your attention. It is just a pedestrian film which can be watched if you want to see Varma changing gears.

Movie Name : 365 Days

Cast : Nandu, Anaika Soti, Krishnudu

Direction : Ram Gopal Varma

Genre : Romance

Likes : Varma’s shift to a different genre

Dilikes : Theme, hackneyed script

By Radhika Rajamani