Thank You Brother Review: A witless and dull drama

What’s it about?
Priya (Anasuya), a pregnant woman, and Abhi (Viraj Ashwin), a spoiled brat, get trapped in an elevator due to the malfunction of the lift. Their situation further aggravates as the government had announced a lockdown to contain COVID-19 a few days before. 

As the residents of the apartment struggle to find a mechanic in the lockdown period, Priya goes into labour in the lift. Can Abhi who does not know anything other than partying save the mother and the child? 

Analysis

Starring Anasuya Bharadwaj as the main lead, ‘Thank You Brother’ is the latest direct-OTT release. The film is streaming on the Aha Video platform. 

First things first. ‘Thank You, Brother’ is the remake of ‘Elevator Baby’ (2019), a Nigerian thriller (The Nigerian thriller is also currently available for streaming on Netflix India). Directed by Ramesh Raparthi, the 90-minute crispier ‘Thank You Brother’ follows the story of Abhi (Viraj Ashwin) who gets stuck in an elevator with a pregnant woman Priya (Anasuya). 

Abhi is a spoiled rich kid. Just lost her husband in a factory mishap, Priya is in the third trimester of her pregnancy. Due to the shock value, she goes into labour. An ideal setup to weave an engaging story. Ideally, the screenplay should focus on the rescue operation or creating tense moments. But ‘Thank You Brother’ misses the golden opportunity with its tepid narration. The writing is lousy, the direction is weak.

The third act, which is crucial to this story, wobbles with unengaging moments. It fails to evoke the desired feeling. Overall, it is witless and dull despite the interesting premise.

Needless to say, the film relies on the two main leads – Anasuya and Viraj Ashwin to the most part. While Anasuya shines in her role as a pregnant woman with her excellent performance, Viraj Ashwin doesn’t leave a strong impression. The film needed a better male actor to play this role. In fact, it is Anasuya who holds the movie in the crucial sequences with her acting capabilities.

Anish Kuruvilla, Archana Ananth, and Mounika Reddy play fictional roles. Viva Harsha and Raghavendra as the hero’s buddies irritate us with their stock comedy.

The cinematography and the background score are effective.

The film adds the COVID-19 pandemic situation effortlessly in the story to add a dimension of logic (lift mechanic not coming to the rescue immediately). This is the only smart thing that the director and the writing team have added to the thriller.  

Bottom-line: ‘Thank You Brother’ is not only a poor adaptation of the Nigerian thriller ‘Elevator Baby’, but it also makes a dull watch.

By: Jalapathy Gudelli

Rating: 1.75/5

Film: Thank You Brother!
Cast: Anasuya Bharadwaj, Viraj Ashwin, and others
Music: Guna Balasubramanian
Cinematography: Suresh Ragutu
Editor: Uday Kumar, Venkat G
Producers: Magunta Sarath Chandra Reddy, Taraknath 
Written and direction: Ramesh Raparthi
Release Date: May 07, 2021
Streaming on: Aha Video