Boys Hostel (2023)

Boys Hostel (2023)

Written and Directed by: Nithin Krishnamurthy
Spoilers Ahead.

Having missed the original version, I was a tad bit bummed at myself. But after watching the dubbed version - I'd go as far as saying that Boys Hostel is not a dubbed version of the original - it's an adaptation. This is not only because of them reshooting the cameos of Rashmi Gautam and Tharun Bhascker, but because of the dialogues written by the team of Chai Bisket. It's filled with pop-culture references, memes and different accents of Telugu as well. Now, about the film - the opening 15-min stretch just goes bonkers - with the fast cuts, swish pans, the camera moves and the transitions - you know that you're in the hands of a filmmaker whose sense of craft is solid. The film takes a turn from there and now we see dirty rooms, messy teenagers shot by a handheld camera. If not for the opening stretch, this could have put us off. But because of the opening stretch, you know that the filmmakers are capable of shooting something cool and cinematic, but they're just choosing not to. Here on, I loved the premise, I loved the structure of the narrative with scope for so many gags in between. Some of my favourites being - the gang who smokes up, Xavier and yes almost every scene is funny. I like the turns that the film takes. 

Although, I felt some fatigue in the 2nd half. Especially because the narrative style is so pulsating and fast that there's a lot of information to process. There's a lot of chaos to witness. The cut backs to the editor, his commentary, the meta touch was good. But all of these were adding extra information to the narrative, which at beginning felt novel and interesting - but after a point - it felt like it was being overdone. I felt like the film had to slow down for a bit, at least in moments, so that we'd be ready for the chaos again. Some moments made me tear up, one moment being the warden overhearing a student saying something, and him going back to lie on the carrom board. And even the ending was beautifully done. I just wish some bits in the 2nd half weren't there. But all in all, absolutely beautiful film. There's verbal, visual, slapstick, deadpan - all sorts of comedy in the film and everything lands. I absolutely enjoyed the film.