‘Srikanth’ Review: Rajkummar Rao Leads Simplistic, Honest, and Earnest Biopic

With a few exceptions, biopics are rarely made well – there’s the danger of forgetting to serve the subject or instead, go full throttle in the opposite direction and end up making a hagiography. The latter is a disservice to your audience. Then there are films like Srikanth that take you in with their honesty. 

Srikanth, directed by Tushar Hiranandani, tells the story of one Srikanth Bolla from Machilipatnam. Srikanth (played by Rajkummar Rao) is visually impaired by birth and follows one ground rule – “I can’t run so I must fight”. This passion drives him to do more than everyone expects him to but also ends up contributing to his hubris. 

The film does a decent job of highlighting the way society isn’t structured to accommodate people with disabilities. Something as simple as providing textbooks in Braille is presented as a mammoth task. Srikanth, for instance, is a brilliant student but doesn’t get the chance to pick ‘Science’ as a stream. This prompts him and his teacher and guide (played by Jyotika) to take on the system. 

At one point, it does feel like the film is teetering into the territory of making something as challenging as challenging the system (I couldn’t resist the repetition) seem…easy. But the film doesn’t do that – it presents Srikanth’s challenges both as a personal struggle and a small victory in a much bigger war. The balance of making Srikanth and his teacher’s fight inspirational while keeping the reality of a fight like that in view is commendable. 

It’s no secret that the depiction of people with disabilities has been abysmal in cinema for a long time – even with the right intentions. Rajkummar Rao’s portrayal of Srikanth Bolla isn’t. He doesn’t rely on exaggerated or harmful stereotypes to play Srikanth. This honesty and effort is enough to make the film stand out in a crowd. 

The film’s take on ‘assistance’ is refreshing as well – for years now, people with disabilities have asked people to not assume they require assistance. The conversation, primarily revolving around consent, highlights the way people infantilise people with disabilities instead of making an actual effort towards creating more accessible spaces. My only issue with this is that this point only comes up in a monologue. 

The people around Rao make up Srikanth’s world and they do it well. Srikanth calls ‘Teacher’ a Yashoda; you expect Teacher to be a guide, a mentor, and perhaps even a shoulder to cry on. Jyothika balances these roles brilliantly. When she must stand aside and let her student shine, she does but she doesn’t hesitate to call him out either. Their relationship is the most endearing aspect of Srikanth. 

The film’s pacing in the first half keeps you engaged, despite some reliance on melodrama, but the second half tends to drag in places. The first half is definitely the superior of the two. It feels like the screenplay starts to follow a linear episodic path towards the end which takes away some of the film’s charm. The only thing keeping the film afloat in moments like this is Jyotika and Sharad Kelkar’s (Kelkar plays Srikanth’s business partner Ravi) performance. 

The background score, too, is way too jarring at first. There is too high a contrast between the subject of the opening scenes and the treatment. It is perhaps the film’s most evident flaw. Even the product placement feels too on the nose to feel authentic. The camerawork is…experimental but doesn’t always pan out the way you would expect it. There are some moments that feel slowed down for no rhyme or reason. 

In contrast, the best part about the film is the attention to detail – something as simple as the continents in Srikanth’s globe being outlined by string reflects the makers’ understanding of Srikanth’s life. Admittedly, there are moments when the same talking points are repeated more often than necessary; this takes space away from other aspects of the film’s messaging that could’ve been explored. 

When the film starts to feel like it’s becoming a hagiography, it takes an about turn. It refuses to present Srikanth as a god-like being incapable of making errors in judgment. Neither does the film look at Srikanth’s story with sympathy – there is just understanding.