Physics Teacher

Plot: Badri is a physics teacher in a school who insists on having a scientific temperament. But, when he begins seeing some strange supernatural occurrences in his house, his beliefs are challenged.

Review: Actor Sumukha turns director with this unusual subject, which tries to address the age-old debate between scientific temperament versus traditional beliefs, the supernatural and superstitions. The director has chosen an interesting premise, but he has tried to play down the narrative for a larger audience, which hampers the story from being elevated to its full potential. However, the story still makes for an interesting watch that is different from the usual tales hitting the screens.

The film begins with the introduction of Badri, the protagonist, who is a passionate physics teacher in a school. The audience gets to know that there is something amiss in his house, where Badri otherwise leads a mundane existence. He has a subtle romantic track with Jalaja, his colleague in the school, who gets to witness the breakdown of Badri, who finds it hard to maintain his scientific temperament when his beliefs are pushed to the edge by a series of supernatural occurrences. What is the real story?

The film is well under 100 minutes, which makes it a breezy watch. One wishes the dichotomy and the supernatural occurrences could have been tapped into a little more. Both Sumukha and Prerana Kambam are good and play their parts well. Rajesh Nataranga gives a measured performance, while Mandya Ramesh’s character does have shades of Kahaani's Bob Biswas and generates intrigue.

Physics Teacher is an earnest and brave attempt at generating dialogue and debate and it does manage to do so. This can be a pick for you if your choice is something more than the usual song-and-dance entertainers.