Second Hand Movie Review

Rating : 2.75/5
Cast : Dhanya Balakrishna, Sudheer Varma, Vishnu,Anuj Ram

Director : Kishore Tirumala

Story :

Second Hand has three different love stories that run around the lives of Santosh (Sudheer Varma), Subbarao (Kireeti Damaraju) and Sahasra (Dhanya Balakrishna). All three love stories have a failure element, but the dynamics are different.

Santosh is a budding photographer and he is madly in love with Deepu. The love story takes off well and the romance is mutual. However, financial aspects and personal ambitions create a rift between the couple. Santosh is ditched by Deepu, leaving him depressed.

Subbarao is a very nice guy, a gentleman in fact. He considers himself a broad minded fellow and decides to marry a girl named Swetcha, despite being told about her past relationship. Subbarao tries his best to accommodate Swetcha’s emotional baggage, but his efforts are thwarted.

Sahasra comes across as a young woman who is unable to choose between a ‘friend’ and a ‘lover’ . All three love stories converge in the end and they learn something from each other, with the help of Posani Krishna Murali.

Plus Points :

Dhanya Balakrishna has done a good job in the film. She has portrayed three different characters in the film and she has managed to give a unique identity to each one of them. She looks good, though not in the ultra glamorous sense.

Kireeti Damaraju entertains with his portrayal of Subbarao. The actor can go a long way, if he keeps working on his comedy timing. Sudheer Varma is good. Vishnu has given a convincing performance as Chaitanya and he is another talent to watch out for.

The director has done a good job with the first half. Pace is decent and entertainment is good in this part of the film. The way in which he has used Dhanya for three different characters is quite innovative.

Minus Points :

The film loses its way in the second half, with unnecessary melodrama. The pace slackens considerably and the story just does not move forward.

The entertainment quotient that keeps the first half alive simply vanishes in the second half. Director Kishore Tirumala makes an entry into the film as a Tamilian and his character is totally unnecessary.

The film becomes quite predictable and cliched, once Sahasra’s story starts unfolding. The film also has a very amateurish feel, but this is perhaps understandable as it has been made with a very limited budget.

The second half of the film has very poor visuals. (The production team says this is due to a major technical glitch, which they overcame with great difficulty)

Technical Aspects :

For the budget on which it has been made and the cameras which were used, the cinematography is decent in the first half. Background music is wacky and helps the film considerably. Editing is pretty neat for this budget. Dialogues are good in parts.

Verdict :

The film has a decent first half, with nice performances, clever screenplay and good humour. Sadly, the director failed to maintain the tempo in the second half and this is where things go wrong.