Dear Comrade in the time of #metoo

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Vijay Devarakonda and his anger management issues have been interesting subjects in the syllabus of Tollywood, where anger and power were seen as tools of machoism; he manages to portray these traits in the negative light and ensure we love to hate him.

Dear Comrade, thus, can be seen as an extension of Arjun Reddy to an extent but with a vocal female lead who stands up for what she believes until the second half.

Since #metoo movement has gained momentum, but to no avail, we have seen several celebrities' including MJ Akbar being accused of inappropriate behaviour with their gullible juniors. The movement that spread like a wildfire from Hollywood but saw momentum when Bollywood Tanushree Dutta alleged the legend, Nana Patekar. What surprises me is how #metoo often reduces to a blame game and then, reduces to a needle point. Yes, there have been cases where the movement was successful in highlighting known celebrities until we see them in the next film.

How does Dear Comrade fit in this charade?


The movie in the second half takes an unexpected twist with the bubbling Rashmika being chained to a hospital ward and on Deverakonda's intervention, it's revealed how she succumbed to a harassment by an official that terminated her career.

Vijay Devarakonda, her former beau, takes it up to himself and further throws gasoline into the fire by unconventional methods to bring justice to Rashmika. At one point, she is flummoxed at Deverakonda's acts and breaks down.

The most intriguing part is the "discussion with the committee" scene. Rashmika and Deverakonda, like a worn out tourniquet, throw their tantrums around, and harrass the audience with their inconsistency.

What started off an attempt to bring justice to women in distress ends up being a mockery of the movement itself. Every woman needs a comrade, is the bottomline.

Shouldn't the comrade be someone she trusts, irrespective of the gender?
Dear comrade, does a good job, in highlighting issues and revising Arjun Reddy but a poor one in resolving them.

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