The Girlfriend is Rahul Ravindran's make-or-break movie. If it becomes a box-office hit, Telugu cinema would have found another high-sensibility director after Tharun Bhascker and Vivek Athreya. Although he proved himself to be a good storyteller with Chi La Sow, the failure of Manmadhudu 2 derailed his career growth. The Girlfriend, though, offers him the best chance in years.
If his pre-release interviews are anything to go by, Rahul has the clarity of a Gautam Menon as far as the subject matter of his movie is concerned. Clarity is not to be confused with sensibility, though.
Compare how well Rahul has been talking about The Girlfriend with what most Tollywood filmmakers are like in interviews. They fail to explain their characters and simply deploy generic language, which is a reflection of their lack of depth. In contrast, well-read filmmakers (you will find many in Bollywood) will be able to explain, describe or analyze their material in a clear-cut language. Rahul is doing that with respect to The Girlfriend. Years and years of reading and making informed posts on social media has helped Rahul hone his thinking. One hopes The Girlfriend surprises everyone on the upside and becomes one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year.
The Girlfriend, starring Rashmika Mandanna, Dheekshith Shetty and Rao Ramesh, will hit the cinemas on November 7.
