Sree Vishnu tour de force 🙌🏽
SWAG is one of those film where it’s so tough to put into words your thoughts on it. It has some of the most unique and important writing of the year along with an absolute masterclass performance from Sree Vishnu.
The second half of the film is genuinely fantastic.
Hasith Goli being an apprentice to Vivek Athreya has always been a director I’ve been mad excited to see make more films. Raja Raja Chora is such a gem in every which way and I’ve been waiting for his second feature film. Swag has been a film that seemed like Hasith was going to push the boundaries of Telugu cinema and in many ways he did. His writing is just as wacky and quirky packed with beautiful moments. The first half of the film was quite mixed for me. I was loving the world building, gender conflicts and the quirkiness but somewhere it felt like it was getting lost with just how much is happening at such a quick pace. It felt a little too self indulgent but had a fantastic interval bang which got me excited for the second half.
The second half of the film was the Hasith Goli I was waiting for and he arrived in full glory. The gender juxtaposition that Hasith weaves into the story and the introduction of one character really changed the course of the film and its heart. I don’t want to give anything away because I really believe watching the film without knowing the major twist and the character adds so much more of a beautiful conversation regarding the taboo in our culture. The film was not as funny as Raja Raja Chora, but undoubtedly double as heartfelt. The story is beautiful and very unique that I wished a stronger first half was there to elevate that second half even more than what it was.
Sree Vishnu gave the best performance of his career in this film. In fact, I can go as far as to say this is the best Telugu male lead performance of the year for me. The different characters he played in this while blending both comedy and very important emotional depth is just extraordinary. He’s always been a very fine actor, but with SWAG he’s gone up leagues for me. Ritu Varma was good too, although maybe not as impactful as I thought she’d be. Meera Jasmine, my god she hasn’t aged a day. So beautiful and so powerful in this film and felt so happy seeing her back in Telugu cinema. The rest of the cast was also good, but again the entire film was a Sree Vishnu tour de force. There was a kid in the second half who had some major scenes and he gave one of the best child performances I’ve seen all year long. Such an important and honest portrayal.
Lot of cool cinematography choices and whips. I especially loved the choices in the second half. Vivek Sagar gave an outstanding score like always. The costumes and production design were awesome too but what was particularly amazing was the makeup. There’s a lot of makeup in the film for different characters, specifically Sree Vishnu which was great.
SWAG has a first half that could be really infuriating at moments, but it’s amazing second half and the honest, genuine and important issue that Hasith Goli wanted to convey to his audience makes this film a must watch.
Feel like it’s a film that’ll grow even more on rewatch.
Sree Vishnu tour de force 🙌🏽
SWAG is one of those film where it’s so tough to put into words your thoughts on it. It has some of the most unique and important writing of the year along with an absolute masterclass performance from Sree Vishnu.
The second half of the film is genuinely fantastic.
Hasith Goli being an apprentice to Vivek Athreya has always been a director I’ve been mad excited to see make more films. Raja Raja Chora is such a gem in every which way and I’ve been waiting for his second feature film. Swag has been a film that seemed like Hasith was going to push the boundaries of Telugu cinema and in many ways he did. His writing is just as wacky and quirky packed with beautiful moments. The first half of the film was quite mixed for me. I was loving the world building, gender conflicts and the quirkiness but somewhere it felt like it was getting lost with just how much is happening at such a quick pace. It felt a little too self indulgent but had a fantastic interval bang which got me excited for the second half.
The second half of the film was the Hasith Goli I was waiting for and he arrived in full glory. The gender juxtaposition that Hasith weaves into the story and the introduction of one character really changed the course of the film and its heart. I don’t want to give anything away because I really believe watching the film without knowing the major twist and the character adds so much more of a beautiful conversation regarding the taboo in our culture. The film was not as funny as Raja Raja Chora, but undoubtedly double as heartfelt. The story is beautiful and very unique that I wished a stronger first half was there to elevate that second half even more than what it was.
Sree Vishnu gave the best performance of his career in this film. In fact, I can go as far as to say this is the best Telugu male lead performance of the year for me. The different characters he played in this while blending both comedy and very important emotional depth is just extraordinary. He’s always been a very fine actor, but with SWAG he’s gone up leagues for me. Ritu Varma was good too, although maybe not as impactful as I thought she’d be. Meera Jasmine, my god she hasn’t aged a day. So beautiful and so powerful in this film and felt so happy seeing her back in Telugu cinema. The rest of the cast was also good, but again the entire film was a Sree Vishnu tour de force. There was a kid in the second half who had some major scenes and he gave one of the best child performances I’ve seen all year long. Such an important and honest portrayal.
Lot of cool cinematography choices and whips. I especially loved the choices in the second half. Vivek Sagar gave an outstanding score like always. The costumes and production design were awesome too but what was particularly amazing was the makeup. There’s a lot of makeup in the film for different characters, specifically Sree Vishnu which was great.
SWAG has a first half that could be really infuriating at moments, but it’s amazing second half and the honest, genuine and important issue that Hasith Goli wanted to convey to his audience makes this film a must watch.
Feel like it’s a film that’ll grow even more on rewatch.
