Review: “Bheeshma” harvests emotions, pulls on viewers’ heartstrings

Image courtesy of IMDb

Image courtesy of IMDb

Navya Charmiraju '20, Feature Editor

“Bheeshma” is a Telugu (Indian) movie starring Nithiin and Rashmika Mandanna. The movie follows the story of Bheeshma, a meme-maker who just can’t succeed in love. He falls for a girl named Anitha and the movie portrays how he wins her love, as well as his journey with organic farming. Advertised as a rom-com, this film has a few serious moments paired with a lot of light-veined scenes. This results in a fun and entertaining film that occasionally pulls on the heartstrings.
This rom-com begins with the usual boy-woos-girl story with many fun, colorful and entertaining musical numbers. Throughout the rest of the movie, more elements are added to the mix including an antagonist and multiple plot twists. Only humor and Bheeshma’s love for Anitha persists throughout the entirety of the movie.
Nithiin delivers a confident performance, and Bheeshma is overall a very entertaining character. The interaction between the other actors in scenes was hilarious with the resounding reason for the film being a good laugh over a strong plotline. The antagonist, Raghavan played by Jisshu Sengupta, as in the film had a less significant role than expected, which took away from the film as a whole as the second half revolved around him. Since the movie was a so-called entertainer, the antagonist was made a footnote. The actual plot of the movie was not very strong but the humor and action scenes overshadow this fact.
One of the most interesting elements of the movie is its message about organic farming. The film makes a case for organic farming in an almost casual manner. The way Bheeshma masters the concept of organic farming is unrealistic but comical. Returning to such farming tactics and reducing fertilizers and helping the soil heal is a powerful message embedded in this comedy filled movie.
The cinematography of “Bheeshma” is undoubtedly beautiful, and the music and dance numbers were easy to remember and follow along. The story was hilarious and had a meaningful message behind it. If you are looking for a light-hearted movie, this one’s for you. It’s an entertainer first and entertainer last with comedy throughout and an overall meaningful message about not only farming, but love and relationships.