Funky Review: A Colourful Meta Comedy That Doesn’t Quite Find Its Rhythm
Anudeep KV’s fifth outing, Funky, arrives in the long shadow of Jathi Ratnalu, a film that cemented his reputation for disarming, almost childlike absurdity delivered with sharp timing. Expectations, therefore, are naturally high. While Funky retains flashes of that innocent, offbeat humour, the writing this time feels less cohesive and far more uneven. There are moments of genuine hilarity, but they are scattered across a narrative that struggles to sustain its comic rhythm.
At its core, Funky operates as a meta comedy, a film about filmmaking that frequently feels self-aware. Much of it unfolds on film sets, inside production offices and within the chaotic ecosystem of the Telugu film industry. It often gives the impression that Anudeep KV is channeling a version of himself through the protagonist, almost staging a playful self-portrait through fiction. The hero’s worldview, creative frustrations and eccentricities seem less like pure invention and more like an exaggerated extension of the filmmaker’s own persona.
Komal, played by Vishwak Sen, is the driving force behind the film’s humour. An unconventional director with peculiar mannerisms, an unusual cadence of speech and a stubbornly cheerful outlook, he exists in a space somewhere between inspired and exasperating. Beneath the eccentric exterior lies a thread of emotional vulnerability. When the narrative briefly revisits his hometown and old companions, it becomes apparent that his oddball behaviour functions as a defence mechanism, a shield forged in response to years of ridicule and dismissiveness. Society throws barbs his way; he absorbs them, smiles, and carries on. The film repeatedly underscores this resilience, showing how his ability to endure humiliation ultimately propels him into the director’s chair in the industry he reveres.
The central conflict arises during the production of a film, also titled Funky, that Komal is directing. Spiralling costs place mounting pressure on the producer, played by Naresh Vijayakrishna, whose health begins to suffer under the financial strain. Into this fraught situation steps his daughter, Chitra, portrayed by Kayadu Lohar. Practical and decisive, she assumes control of the production and opts to replace Komal in an effort to salvage what remains of the shoot. This decision triggers the narrative’s primary tension: can Komal reclaim his position and prove his creative worth, or will his eccentricity cost him the project altogether?
Vishwak Sen commits fully to Komal’s quirks, ensuring that even when the writing falters, the character rarely fades into dullness. The comedy largely hinges on his idiosyncratic responses to everyday crises. Some one-liners fall flat, overreaching in their bid for laughs, yet others land splendidly, provoking the kind of spontaneous chuckle that Anudeep’s films are known for. Kayadu Lohar provides a grounded counterbalance to the chaos, justifying her role with a composed performance that anchors several key confrontations.
However, the film occasionally tries too hard to be funny. Anudeep KV’s instinct for humour is evident, but here it feels slightly unchecked. Instead of allowing situations to breathe and organically yield comedy, certain scenes stretch themselves thin in pursuit of punchlines. Eccentricity can indeed be fertile ground for humour, but it requires careful construction. It is not enough to rely solely on scattered single-line jokes; the surrounding gags and scenarios must be shaped with equal precision. In Funky, the scaffolding sometimes appears incomplete, leaving otherwise promising comic ideas underdeveloped.
Technically, the film mirrors this inconsistency. Bheems Ceciroleo’s music proves largely unremarkable; the songs drift by without imprinting themselves on the memory, and the background score seldom amplifies either the emotional undercurrents or the comedic beats. By contrast, Suresh Sarangam’s cinematography lends the film a consistently vibrant look. The frames are colourful and polished, complementing the playful tone and lending the film-within-a-film setting a glossy sheen. Production values are respectable, maintaining a tidy visual appeal throughout.
Editing, though, is less assured. Scene transitions can feel abrupt, contributing to a slightly disjointed viewing experience. Yet the uneven editing also seems symptomatic of the screenplay’s episodic nature; when the narrative itself feels random in patches, seamless cuts alone cannot fully disguise the structural gaps.
Funky review: Funky remains intermittently entertaining, a cheerful, self-referential comedy buoyed by an engaging central performance and occasional flashes of wit. It showcases Anudeep KV’s fondness for innocence and absurdity, but it does not consistently match the spirited coherence of his earlier triumph. Colourful and quirky though it is, the film ultimately feels like a sketch of brilliance rather than its fully realised form.
