Cert 12A
133 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent bloody images
Having been on holiday for a week I have neglected the plethora of Indian movies which have been released.
Let's be honest, if it were not for Indian and Turkish cinema releases, the everyfilm challenge would be in the bag.
Nowadays, there is a good chance that there will be at least five Indian movies which hit UK screens every week - in different languages (Hindu, Tamil, Punjabi, Telugu and Malayalam). Sometimes there will also be a Pakistani release in Urdu and, recently, there have been films in the Kannada language.
As you can see, ticking them off is a massive undertaking, particularly because so few are released on itunes and none are sent to me by film companies.
Anyway, I tried to reduce my 'missing list' of movies with an Indian cinema triple bill on Sunday which started at Derby Odeon with Vamsi Krishna Naidu's Telugu comedy Kittu Unnadu Jagratha which, sadly, failed to raise a smirk.
This is what has become known as a masala movie because it combines action, comedy, song and romance. Too often this means pictures try to cover too many bases and that is certainly the case here.
The film starts promisingly with a serious blackmail leading to the suicide of a well-known cricketer but I sensed a wrong turn when a potential rapist was being chased off my a friendly-looking beagle.
From then on, it becomes a mish-mash which centres on a happy-go-lucky car mechanic (Raj Tharun) who falls in love with one of his customers (Anu Emanuel) while also becoming the leader of a dog-napping team.
Why the rich beauty is head over heels for the petty criminal is anyone's guess but even that is not as perplexing as the way in which everyone, from the chief of police to the head tax inspector, fall so easily victim to the blackmailer (Arbaaz Khan).
Khan makes a rather splendid villain - suave but dead pan with a voice which is as deep and thick as molasses (how does nobody recongnise it when he is making his ransom demands?)
Anyway, farcical misunderstandings are at the centre of the comedy which was not funny until it prompts an unintended giggle when the bad guys are again chased off by dogs which are, this time, led by the friendliest Labrador I have ever seen.
The best I can suggest about Kittu Unnadu Jagratha is that its makers try too hard. They jolt from one scene to another without having a thread which would have made it meaningful.
The consequence was that I was left scratching my head.
Reasons to watch: if you want a tepid Telugu masala movie
Reasons to avoid: tries to cover too many bases
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 3/10
Star tweet
When a story is told with good & interesting screenplay, patrons will be always there for those movies. #KittuUnnaduJagratha