Writer Padmabhushan Review

Writers are a notoriously serious lot - serious at least about their work. How else would they pursue a craft that requires hours of toil, wrangling words, battling resistance, and gagging that inner voice that tells them they will never be the next Stephen King or Jandhyala? If writing is such a solemn pursuit, it's only fair for a movie about an aspiring writer to be similarly grave and intense. But Writer Padmabhushan is not such a movie, and this may be precisely why it works.

Padmabhushan (Suhas) dreams of being a famous writer. He has only one book to his credit, which he secretly self-publishes and tries to pawn off on anyone he meets using guerilla marketing techniques. He slips copies into people's checkout piles at the library where he works, places them on parked vehicles, and bribes his local bookseller to display them front and centre. But it's plainly clear that he is not the gifted talent he thinks he is.

Then something incredible happens. The book goes viral. He gets famous. Applause, accolades and autograph requests pour in. Except, the book that everybody is gung-ho about, which has his name and photo attached, is not his. Before he can confess, his marriage gets arranged to his maradalu, Sarika (Tina Shilparaj), who he has crushed on since childhood, and it feels convenient to keep the charade going.

Out of habit, from watching too many scam-artist-gets-exposed movies, I was bracing myself for when the shit hits the fan, for the melodrama after Bhushan's deception gets discovered, for the yelling and weeping, and broken engagements that would follow. But Writer Padmabhushan is a refreshingly lighthearted jaunt - at least right up until the very end. It surprises at every turn, taking a casual approach to our hero's problems.

Take its depiction of Bhushan's life as a writer. Bhushan breaks into a folksy dance when he sees a stranger express even a slight interest in his book. But when a bad review comes in, and the local bookstore discards his books by the garbage, his confidence gets shot, and he swears off writing. Now at a moment like this, the story might have dragged on, indulging in Bhushan's self-pity, perhaps with a montage of his agony. Instead, this movie gets on with it and quickly pivots to a sub-plot about mistaken identity. Then for a bit, it becomes an endearing romance between Bhushan and Sarika, but it doesn't linger there for long, and turns into a mystery before ending as a social drama.

The anchor through it all is actor Suhas, who shows a knack for nailing both the humourous bits and the heavy stuff. Newcomer Tina Shilparaj, who plays Sarika, matches his naturalistic style of acting, and together they make a good pair, despite what you might think from seeing their first few scenes together. The other young actors have a similarly casual style, giving the movie a distinctly millennial vibe that makes the older characters fade into the background.

The laid-back storytelling is refreshing - easy on the eyes and ears - but that doesn't prepare you for the dramatic teary ending. You might find yourself in one of two extreme states as the credits roll. You might stand up and applaud their message as you fight back the tears. Or more likely, you will be wondering if got baited into a social drama via comedy, and wish that the filmmakers had stuck to a lighthearted tone will the end.