Bakasura Restaurant Review

Bakasura Restaurant, featuring comedians Praveen B and Harsha Chemudu, tries to position itself as yet another genre-mixing film - part social satire, part horror and part comedy - but the mixture is not in the right proportions. The film aims to deliver chills and thrills to the audience but instead leaves a bad taste.

Paramesh (Praveen B), a struggling private employee, shares a bachelor pad with his friends Vaman, Sai, Palli and Bhargav. Vaman dreams of becoming a filmmaker, while the others live off Paramesh's earnings.

Tired of his stressful job, Paramesh hopes to open a restaurant, but needs Rs 50 lakh. To raise money, he starts a YouTube channel, Bindass Bachelors, filming in haunted places. During one shoot they find an occult book and try the rituals mentioned in that book to get rich. However, in the process they awaken the spirit of Bakka Suri aka Bakasura (Harsha Chemudu), who soon turns their lives upside down.

Bakasura is a fearsome and gluttonous demon from the Mahabharata. A man-eating giant, he demanded daily human sacrifices and cartloads of food. In the film, the situations revolve around a Bakasura-like spirit that enters a bachelors' den and the neighbourhood, devouring all the food and demanding more. There was plenty of potential to exploit these scenarios for both comedy and horror. However, the comic moments arise only intermittently, and the horror elements are minimal.

The film begins well, setting the tone, introducing the characters effectively and building the world organically. But once the helpless bachelors get hold of the occult book, the film loses its soul to the clatter of cutlery and the microcosm of low-lives in the city's peripheries.

Some of the humour in the movie is below the belt and unwarranted. As the story progresses, the makers insert unnecessary and crude comedy, reminiscent of how '90s adult films would include a one-reel porn segment. As a result, the comedy often feels forced and farcical.

The name Bakasura Restaurant remains just that - a namesake. The flashback of Bakka Suri is very brief, and the character is treated in a touch-and-go manner. Almost nothing is explored about his gluttony - why he was that way, and why his spirit continues to wander in search of food nearly 200 years after his death.

The movie is also riddled with plot holes, and the lazy execution gives the impression of an insincere attempt - the objective is clearly to piggyback on the success of the horror-comedy trend.

The love stories and songs are included as template elements. They do not register in your mind and feel like standalone pieces, serving only to dilute the impact of the comedy.

Though the movie is marred by a weak script, the performances by the lead cast are actually good. Praveen gets ample screen time and a meatier role, and he gives his best. There is a natural charm to him when he plays a helpless character struggling through the daily grind to survive.

Harsha has limited screen time, but he delivers. You would not believe he is not a trained actor. Unlike in other movies where he is known for making you laugh through his dialogue delivery, here he speaks little, letting his expressions do the work.

Among others, Srikanth Iyengar's performance as a stickler boss is impactful and highly relatable. He perfectly embodies that grumpy boss in a corporate setup.

The songs themselves are not bad, but they do not fit into the movie. The background score and screenplay are merely functional, much like what you would see in a tight-budget film.

Wait to catch this one on OTT, if you must.