Taxiwala is a horror comedy film starring Vijay Deverakonda and Priyanka Jawalkar in lead roles. Malavika Nair played a key role in the film. GA2 Pictures and UV Creations produced it together. Rahul Sankrityan has written and directed it. Taxiwala released worldwide on 17th Nov, 2018.
Taxiwala Story
Shiva (Vijay Deverakonda) is a jobless guy who comes to Hyderabad for employment. As he fails to find a suitable job, opportunity knocks on his door in the form of a cab driver job. He arranges some money with difficulty and buys an old car. Shiva falls in love with his first customer Anu (Priyanka Jawalkar) and starts earning a decent income. As he thinks that his problems are solved, the car starts acting weird and they suspect a ghost behind it. The backstory of the car, how Shiva gets rid of it, and how his life is affected form the rest of the story.
Story Analysis
Taxiwala is a regular ghost in the car film with a touch of Sci-Fi and a lot of comedy. The film begins on a serious note but quickly moves to its humorous tone without any delay. The first half is a buddy comedy until interval with many casual scenes. It has a lot of Pelli Choopulu flavor and reminds us of the early days of Vijay. The romance is well handled and the chemistry between Vijay and Priyanka is convincing. The interval twist is gripping and raises expectations for the second half.
However, the second half slows down and the flashback is uninteresting. The serious tone of the flashback spoiled the overall mood of the film. But the scenes before and after the flashback are excellent. Although the second half is slow, the comedy scenes make it enjoyable. The Sci-Fi elements are inherently flawed. Astral projection is not a scientific concept and there is no theoretical evidence. Moreover, the concept of the soul is not scientific and is purely religious. While quantum physics supports such concepts to some extent, classical physics can’t prove such things. A handheld device to monitor the mental state is far from reality. The regular audiences wouldn’t go that deep, so these concepts are no serious flaws. However, it is misleading for such audiences. Overall, Taxiwala is a good attempt with a simple concept narrated humorously.
Performances
Vijay Deverakonda is brilliant in his role. He excels in emotional scenes and is superb in comedy scenes. Priyanka Jawalkar is good in her role. But she doesn’t have much role or scope to perform. Malavika Nair is a good actress and she is perfect in a short role. Senior actress Yamuna had a cameo and she is good. Madhu and Vishnu (Holywood) have lengthy roles and they are superb. Vishnu is a good find and he has good comedy timing.
Technical Analysis
Taxiwala’s script had flaws but the comedy overshadowed all of them. The dialogues are natural and good. The production values are top-notch. Although the film has a low budget, the quality is on par with medium-budget films. The cinematography is superb and the handheld shots are good. The background score is decent and the songs are good. The editing is decent but the second half has a slow pace. Rahul Sankrityan has the potential to grow as a director in the future. He has a very good command over other departments and many shots are brilliant.
Conclusion
Taxiwala is a regular horror comedy with a lot of fresh comedy scenes. Although the film has a slow pace in several places, it is enjoyable as a whole.
Taxiwala
Director: Rahul Sankrityan
Date Created: 2018-11-17 11:00
2.5
