.jpg "Teddy Movie Review")
Teddy Movie Cast & Crew
Arya's Teddy is the latest Tamil film that has opted for a direct digital release during the Covid times. The film is directed by Shakti Soundar Rajan who is known for directing films like Naaigal Jaakirathai, Miruthan and Tik Tik Tik. How has the film fared and can it be watched? Here is our take on it!
Teddy, as the title suggests, deals with an interesting fantasy concept of what if a teddy bear gets a life and starts to speak and spend time with a man. Here, a teddy runs into Shiva’s (Arya) life and befriends him. She places an important request to Shiva and asks him to help her. Did Shiva manage to help Teddy and solve the problems or did they get trapped in the plan of the antagonist? Well, watch the film and know the answers.
Teddy is a medical crime thriller that has a unique treatment that actually works to an extent. Majority of the sequences involving the teddy bear interests you and the kids who watch it will also enjoy it. The VFX / CG work that has gone behind creating the teddy bear and its movements/actions are pretty good and there are no major glitches. Director Shakti Soundar Rajan packs an interesting first half that sets a good base for the second half. Also, the chemistry between Shiva and the teddy is heartwarming and their beautiful friendship is neatly captured.
However, only in the second half, the main problem begins and the film doesn’t gain momentum until its very end. Teddy is weak on the conflict angle and the subject is not explored in detail. The organ trafficking concept is dealt on a surface level and Arya's fight against the medical crime end gang ends sooner without any impact. The second half is where the film falters and suffers from various issues. The entire portions that happen in Azerbaijan are uninteresting and fall flat. The sequences are not coherently packed.
Director Shakti Soundar Rajan’s writing could have been much better, in terms of writing of the characters and a stronger conflict. Along with a better execution and stronger writing, Teddy could have appealed much better than what it is now.
Arya has given his everything to the character and his earnest performance is very much seen. As a person with OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), Arya is quite interesting to watch and there are no complaints about his acting. However, the main hero of the film happens to be the teddy bear that keeps you invested throughout. The teddy bear’s funny and jocular act is sure to entertain the viewers and she is the centre of attraction. The teddy angle is what makes the film stand out from the other medical crime thrillers and that works in the favour of the film, as well. Looking at Teddy, one can feel that director Shakti Soundar Rajan can pull off a completely kids-friendly film with a teddy-like character as there are no problems in those portions.
Sayyeshaa gets a limited screen time that doesn’t give her any scope to perform. Magizh Thirumeni, who makes his acting debut with Teddy, is impressive, but as a character, it turns out to be weak. Except for Arya’s character, the other characters are underdeveloped and not strongly written.
D Imman’s background music is a major boost for Teddy and his work is quite impressive. He manages to blend the ‘kids-friendly’ mood and ‘action’ mood neatly with his music. The songs like, ‘En Iniya Thanimaye’, ‘Nanbiye’, and ‘Marandhaye’ are a treat for music lovers. Yuva’s frame compositions are neat and it garners attention, but the overall colour tone of the film seems to be quite dull.
- TEDDY is streaming on DISNEY + HOTSTAR OTT PLATFORM!
Verdict: An average fantasy-crime drama that is saved to an extent by the teddy bear!
