Heat Is On

Story: Abhi (Vardhan Gurrala) helps his childhood friend Cyril (Mohan Sai) elope with the girl she loves, Aaradhya (Ambika Vani). But little does he know that it’ll set off a chain of events he can’t control.

Review: Heat, directed by Sharath Varma and MN Arjun, written by MR Varma, is a mixed bag of a film. While the narrative is pretty tight, there are moments you wish the makers would’ve pushed the bar a little more.

Abhi (Vardhan Gurrala) is a businessman who leads a happy life with his lover (Sneha Kushi), childhood friend Cyril (Mohan Sai) and his girlfriend Aaradhya (Ambika Vani). While Abhi is in no hurry to get married, his friends Cyril and Aaradhya elope due to mitigating circumstances. Everything seems tense yet relatively safe for a while, till it doesn’t. Abhi is soon sent on a wild goose chase that just might result in a few deaths.

Heat wastes no time in getting into the thick of things. Right from the get-go we’re thrown into the story even as the makers slowly unfold how the characters are related to each other. The atmosphere keeps you on edge right from the beginning because you just know Cyril and Aaradhya’s wedding is going to make some people unhappy.

The red herring the director throws your way works for the most part because you believe you know who’s behind it all. But soon, a twist comes your way and you’re as much in the dark as Abhi is. It’s a gamble to introduce a completely new character at the fag end of such a tight film, but the makers invest enough in it for it to work.

When the film doesn’t work is when it comes to some of the tropes, a few even come across as silly. The beats are familiar and when you have smart characters in the film, the makers could’ve pushed the bar a little more. Vardhan and Pulkith Mahendra play their roles well while Sneha, Ambika and Mohan leave you wanting. The dialogues also could’ve been better because some of them come across as plain cheesy.

Heat works well if you keep your expectations in check and the suspense genre is your cup-of-tea.