The name's Athreya...Agent Athreya!

(Image Courtesy: imdb.com)

This year I had the utmost pleasure of watching not one, but two whimsically funny films. The first was the delightful Hindi film Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota (MKDNH - available on Netflix) and the second was the equally delightful Telugu film Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya (ASSA - an unfortunate acronym, but what to do - running in theatres now). The fact that both these films have exhaustingly long names is probably just a coincidence.

Another coincidence between these films is their leads. The male leads aren’t the conventional good-looking, macho characters but have a charming screen presence and know how to act. The similarities between the female leads are sparse - the only thing common to both the heroines is that they’re not handled with kid gloves. Both the films have a whacky background score, no lip-synced songs, umpteen references to various pop culture elements and a simple plot, but I think I’d binge watch ASSA more than MKDNH.

ASSA is the story of Athreya, a Nellore-based Sherlock Holmes bhakt who solves petty crimes and fancies himself as the best detective in Nellore, despite lack of support from the unimpressed local police force and a spunky assistant. In a twist, Agent (which is what he is called throughout the film) lands his hands on a crucial murder case. Believing the case to be his ‘claim to fame’, Agent begins his investigations and, like countless detectives in whodunit films, gets embroiled in a larger and graver crime. On the whole, a vanilla thriller storyline, but the gripping theme of the actual crime (no spoilers!), the humor and the characters keep the momentum of this film going. The first half ends with a bang and the second half seamlessly takes over, without dropping the pace of the film even for a second. Keep popcorn platters full and bladders empty guys, for this is a film that will keep you engrossed till the very last minute.

(Image Courtesy: imdb.com)

Let’s talk about the very interesting protagonist, Agent (which is what he is called throughout the film). Witty, self-centered and sharp, Agent models himself after his ‘kuladaivata’ (family deity) Holmes. He gets all his investigative skills not from professional training but from American detective series and films, and diligently prescribes these films like medication to his assistant-in-training, Shreya (Shruti Sharma). In a hilarious dialogue, an outraged Agent wonders how the police solves their crimes without basic knowhow of cinema (“Basic cinema knowledge lekunda veellu cases ela solve chestunnaaru?!”). After solving every case, he takes a selfie with the culprits. He drinks tea from a Starbucks paper cup (full marks for being environmental friendly!), wears suspenders instead of a belt and despite Nellore’s hot climate, puts on a long overcoat and a trilby hat every time he heads out for a case. Don’t be fooled - Agent might be pretentious but he certainly isn’t dimwitted - nothing misses his eyes. He is funny but not foolish. Polishetty could easily have made the character of Agent cartoonish, but he somehow pulls it off with an inherent earnestness and elan. I really don’t think anybody who has watched Polishetty’s rant in the ‘Honest Engineering Placement’ video by AIB needs to be told how effective he is as a performer - he doesn’t overdo his acting anywhere in the entire emotional scene. Even in the film, Polishetty plays it cool, and stays within the limits of his character. Nani might have to share his ‘Natural Star’ moniker with Polishetty (another fun coincidence, considering that Nani’s first name is Naveen 😜 )

It is been quite a long time since we’ve had such a fun, Johnny English-type of character in Telugu films - thank you, Swaroop RSJ for creating him. I only wish the filmmakers had shown what prompted the student Athreya to start Nellore’s FBI (Fatima Bureau of Investigation; the film has more such gems!) and become Agent, but you never know, there might be a sequel *fingers crossed*

Do yourself a favor and watch this film in the theatre. You won’t regret it, I swear!