Graduate Review

Looking for nice things to say about Graduate is like judging a beauty contest for mosquitoes - you have to have a lot of free time on your hands, it looks ridiculous to onlookers, it doesn't pay too well, and it is a pointless exercise anyway.

Graduate is one of those "youth-centric" flicks that are made to portray issues of youngsters of the state today, but to make sense of which you need to have studied at least 7 East European languages and 3 extra-terrestrial cultures.

4 college friends step out into the real world after their college. 3 out of them get into call centre jobs, but the other one, the brilliant Chakri (Akshay), wants to think long-term. One of the 3, a girl called Manisha (Tashu Kaushik), is in love with Chakri, who keeps turning down her advances.

Into Chakri's life walks a babe who is hot - this we cleverly made out from the length of her clothes, which was equal in number to the amount of sense all her dialogues put together made - and rich. Chakri confides in Manisha, who is heartbroken but agrees to help him woo his lady love.

Eventually, he is dumped by the girl. At around the same time, Chakri's father (Chandramohan) has a heart attack after looking at his marksheet. Chakri decides to focus on his studies, and stays out of touch with all his friends. Later, when his friends get laid off due to the recession, and get involved in a drugs scandal, he comes back as a police officer and sets things right.

Graduate is a lousy movie for several reasons, all of which can be clearly found in the opening and the closing credits. Nothing works - the acting, the script, the music, the direction, or even the cinematography - except the credits. It is an amateur production, and looks and feels like any other C-movie in its genre.

The makers try to throw in career plans, relationships, drugs, Muthyam Computers (and "Linga Raju") and friendship, but end up with a school play.

Akshay has the physique and the voice to make it as a hero in a few other films, and Tashu Kaushik is pretty expressive and energetic. The others can make it big in their own right, but they will have to fund their own films.

Krishna Bhagawan brings in some sniggers. However, it is not clear what exactly about Brahmanandam's comedy track we are supposed to find funny.

The songs at least qualify as music, but are strictly meant for only those who composed them and sang them. The locales of the film might make a Vizag resident proud - actually, not.

If you still want to watch this movie, wait for a week or 2, check with the producers if they're still screening it, and then, check with your folks if it's okay for you to watch it.