Srikanth review: Rajkummar Rao plays a blind genius in Tushar Hiranandani’s biopic on Srikanth Bolla.
Srikanth Bolla is visually impaired and can ‘practically only dream’. Therefore, he chooses to dream rather big, and chase those dreams by all means. He has quite a few mottos in life — ‘I can’t run, so I must fight’, ‘There is nothing I cannot do’, ‘If others can, Sri also can’. He isn’t asking for help. He needs guidance and mentoring. He doesn’t want people to pity him for his limitations. He wants to gets things on merit. Director Tushar Hiranandani, along with writers Jagdeep Siddhu and Sumit Purohit, stitches all these aspects beautifully, and weaves them into a simplistic yet an impactful narrative in form of this biographical, Srikanth.
Srikanth, played flawlessly by Rajkummar Rao, says, ‘Main hero nahi ban raha, main hero hoon’. Well, that simply encapsulates his standing in the film. He is the heart and hero of Srikanth, and shines throughout without any low points as far as his performance is concerned. Even when the narrative, screenplay or the pace of the film dwindles, it’s Rao’s terrific performance that keeps the ship afloat. It’s hard to not notice the time and effort that has gone into the prep of this character and that shows in every single frame. A scene where Srikanth falls on the ground and hits his forehead, and unconsolably cries in front of his teacher saying he doesn’t want to beg, it doesn’t evoke an emotion of pity but shows his resilience and strength.
The plot
The story begins in July 1992, when Srikanth (Rajkummar Rao) is born to Damodar Bolla (Srivinas Beesetty) and Venkatamma Bolla (Anusha Nuthula) at Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. While the father is elated on the birth of his first child, that too a boy, which is considered auspicious, and he names him after his favourite cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth, his world comes crumbling down as the realisation dawns upon him that his son has been born blind. He cries, feels helpless and when neighbours tell him to kill their child, Damodar is about to bury him alive, but his wife stops him.
The film, very briefly though, shows us Srikanth’s growing up years where he would get bullied by other kids who would tell him that he’s good for nothing and will grow up to be a ‘blind beggar’. Soon, Srikanth is admitted to a special school for visually impaired in Hyderabad where he finds teacher Devika (Jyothika), who not only takes it on herself to help him in studies but also teach him how to walk without assistance and be independent.
