Laila Disaster: Vishwak Sen, Time to Introspect

One of the most promising talents to ever come out of Telugu cinema, actor Vishwak Sen proved his mettle with Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi and followed it up with his directorial debut Falaknuma Das. Both these films took Vishwak Sen close to the audience as he looked like a breath of fresh air with his unique content amid a crowded Telugu cinema space filled with commercial cinema. 

Expectations of Vishwak sky-rocketed once he made HIT: The First Case as he proved that he could draw audiences to the theatres while enacting a subtle role as well. Even during Covid, Vishwak Sen impressed one and all with his OTT release - Ashoka Vanam lo Arjuna Kalyanam. If HIT reached a limited crowd owing to its violent theme, AVAK made Vishwak a family name in the two Telugu states. 

However, it was after AVAK that Vishwak’s graph went the other way. His films like Das Ka Dhumki, Pagal, and Ori Devuda failed to leave any impact on fans. Even the follow-up films like Gaami and Gangs of Godavari had shown promise but didn’t do wonders at the box office.

Vishwak told in multiple interviews that he wanted to redefine how commercial cinema is made in Telugu cinema, and during those flops, it appears as if Vishwak fell into a needless trap of masala cinema making that left him nothing but criticism.

But, the actor persisted. Despite back-to-back flops, Vishwak tried to take a half-decent idea and decided to weave a commercial narrative around it. That’s what happened with Mechanic Rocky. Just for the thrills that it gave in the final hour, the audiences were forced to sit and go through the forced comedy, unnecessary hero elevation scenes for the first 90 minutes. 

The movie didn’t become a hit despite the director receiving some praise for his tactful screenplay in the last 45 minutes to 1 hour. A lot of the scenes added in the first half of Mechanic Rocky had Vishwak’s mark written all over it, claimed fans online. 

The same thing happened with Laila. Vishwak took an interesting point and tried to infuse it with crass comedy to appeal to the youth. Even when the trailer was bashed by the same “youth” audiences, Vishwak promised them that “Laila” would be a fun ride. The result is there for everyone to see. 

Considering Laila’s debacle, it is expected of Vishwak to go back to the drawing board, re-think his script choices, and choose the ones that will showcase his talent as an actor instead of catering to an invisible fan base that only exists when a movie becomes a hit and leaves the moment it turns out to be a disaster. 

In the era of social and digital media, it’s impossible to gauge true stardom for young actors and it is only through good content that actors can leave their mark on Telugu audiences. Sree Vishnu and Siddu Jonnalagadda are two prime examples of the same. Here is hoping that Vishwak Sen stops running behind invisible stardom and starts chasing true content that can fetch him fans for life.