118 Telugu Movie

 In Alan Moore’s famed graphic novel V for Vendetta, there’s a line that goes, “Behind this mask there is more than just flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea... and ideas are bulletproof.” It’s almost like cinematographer-turned-director KV Guhan decided to play along with that thought and turn it into a gripping tale filled with innocence, love, smokescreens, deceit and murder. And boy, did he succeed for most part!

Goutham (Kalyan Ram) is an investigative journalist who loves off-roading, spending time with his loving fiancé Megha (Shalini Pandey), blow covers on corrupt politicians and such. One particular night, in a particular room at a resort, he dreams of Aadhya (Nivetha Thomas), a girl he has never met before. He sees her being beaten up bloody by goons and wakes up in a sweat. When he has the exact dream 6 months after; in the same room at the resort, he decides to dig deeper to find out if she really exists. In doing so, he uncovers a conspiracy that goes beyond a missing girl mourned by her father. 

To reveal more would be an injustice to all the knots Guhan and his character Goutham carefully untie, one by one, by the time the climax rolls. Is the film thrilling and without any distractions? Yes. Does it have a gripping enough story? Sure. But, 118 sure does have its share of flaws and unrealistic cinematic liberties taken, all brushed under the carpet by a tight screenplay by Guhan and stupendous editing by Tammi Raju, like that one shard of bloody glass the protagonist uncovers in the film. The one number the film has, composed by Shekhar Chandra only takes the story forward instead of proving to be a hindrance. The music composer even does a good job setting the mood with the BGM. Guhan does a stupendous job of jumping right into the middle of chaos, instead of wasting time with niceties, which is a refreshing move. The only exception is a fight scene in the beginning that seems to be put in for the sake of it. 

But the true hero of this tale is Nivetha Thomas who delivers a stupendous performance in the limited screen-time she has. Jr NTR was not fooling around when he said he had shed a tear after watching her in the film during 118’s pre-release event. Nivetha Thomas as Aadhya is a revelation, bringing to life her character’s innocence, loving nature, bravery, stubbornness for justice and even guilt with consummate ease. She breezes through her role, stealing the show, especially in a particular scene that requires her to show heart-breaking grief. 

Nandamuri Kalyan Ram too has improved, compared to some of his previous projects. And while he does flounder at certain key scenes, his performance remains consistently good for most part. With a character like his, it’s truly easy to think he’s meandering on the brink of madness, unless the actor manages to convince the audience the need to find this girl from his dreams. And Kalyan Ram does just that. 

While Shalini Pandey’s chemistry with Kalyan Ram is truly off-the-charts, it’s a mystery why she exists in this tale. Her character unfortunately has nothing much to do other than romance the hero, deliver generic lines to egg him on this journey and tag along on his adventures. In a film that requires you to invest in its characters, hers just doesn’t invoke any emotion from you. It also doesn’t help that Shalini Pandey delivers a strictly okay performance. 

Irrespective of the cracks in the story and missed logics, go watch this one for the edgy narrative. But be warned; do not try to dig too deep into it, for you might just miss out on a fine thriller that tries to deliver more than the usual heroics. Especially go watch this one for Nivetha Thomas and Kalyan Ram, you will not regret it.