David

Synopsis: In 2010, a Goan fisherman David (Vikram) falls in love with his best friend’s fiancee Roma (Isha Sharvani). In 1999, a priest’s family gets dragged into a political controversy and the priest’s son David (Jiiva) wants to know why.

Review: Perpetually drunk David (Vikram) has a tough call to make. He has to choose between his best friend Peter and his fiancee. Although he seeks counsel from his father’s ghost (Saurabh Shukla), who possesses random people and forces them to have a drink, and Frenny (Tabu), they have conflicting advice for him. While David goes drinking and mulling his next course of action, the camera captures the beaches of Mangalore and the backwaters of Alappuzha to recreate a wonderful looking Goa. R Rathnavelu and P S Vinod deserve full credit for doing a wonderful job behind with the camera.

Striking visuals follow again when we are told the story of guitarist David (Jiiva), which is set in Mumbai. As David waits for a break, he teaches young and old guitar enthusiasts. His world turns upside down when his father Abraham Noel (Nasser) gets dragged into a controversy, and is charged with allegedly converting Hindus to Christianity. He sets out to find answers to his questions and doubts.

The movie cuts back and forth between the two characters, but the weak script drags in places. Most characters are well-written, and the performances too add to the movie’s charm. Vikram comes out good with his drunken antics, but at times appear monotonous. Jiiva too does well as the happy go lucky young man. The lip-synching, which goes completely off track in scenes that are taken from the Hindi version, is one of its biggest drawbacks. The songs by an ensemble team of composers, including Remo Fernandes and Anirudh Ravichander, are an absolute treat.

The movie might be about love, making crucial decisions and the situations that bring people together, but ‘David’ doesn’t conjure up enough magic to inspire us!