Poster for the film.
Arjun Reddy is a 2017 Indian Telugu language coming-of-age love drama film written and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, produced by Pranay Reddy Vanga for Bhadrakali Pictures. The film stars Vijay Deverakonda, Shalini Pandey and Rahul Ramakrishna in the lead roles.The film tells the story of a brilliant young surgeon and titular character of the film, Arjun Reddy. A doctor with anger management issues who goes down a path of self destruction after losing the love of his life. The film received critical acclaim and gained a cult following among Indian youth despite controversies with the Indian Censor Board.
This film provides examples of:
- Academic Athlete: Arjun plays college football(soccer) tournaments while being a brilliant student and topping in his studies.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Throughout the film, several women are seemingly attracted to Arjun despite his Rebellious Spirit and aggressive behavior.
- Anti-Hero: In many ways Arjun Reddy defies the conventional archetype of an Indian hero. He is imperfect and borderline psychotic at times.
- Arranged Marriage: Preeti is forced to marry another man from her community by her parents.
- Dr. Jerk: Arjun Reddy with his anger issues (not to mention his addiction to drugs, alcohol and sex). Yet others seem to excuse or downplay his behaviour because he's great at his job (topper of his college, performed 245 surgeries in 200 days with a 100% success rate).
- Elopement: Implied when Preeti asks Arjun to marry her 'right now'.
- Expository Hairstyle Change and Beard of Sorrow: Arjun's wild, unkempt hair and beard in his present depressed state contrasted with flashbacks of his clean-shaven college days. After sobering up following his grandmother's death, Arjun shaves again.
- Flash Back: The film starts off showing Arjun's present state as a Heartbroken Bad Ass interlaced with him recalling events from his college days and how he met Preeti.
- Friends with Benefits: Averted with Arjun and an actress, who happens to be his patient, because she falls in love with him.
- Functional Addict: Arjun claims it himself and is explicitly shown in the film on many accounts such as
- Drinking alcohol before surgery
- Successfully performing surgery while high
- Attending a court hearing after snorting cocaine
- Give the Baby a Father: Averted. Arjun turns out to be the real father.
- Heartbroken Bad Ass: Arjun refuses to move on from his One True Love, Preeti after their breakup. Despite being a high-functioning doctor he is in a lot of pain and uses various coping mechanisms, such as alcohol abuse, drug abuse and attempted one-night stands to deal with the pain.
- Love at First Sight: Arjun and Preeti.
- Modesty Bedsheet:
- Opening shot of Arjun and a woman lying, apparently naked, on a bed in the middle of a beach.
- The scene where Arjun and Preeti are lying in bed after they just had sex for the first time.
- My Secret Pregnancy: Preeti keeps her pregnancy a secret from Arjun and doesn't attempt to contact him for months.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Preeti's parents forbid her from marrying Arjun or even continuing to see him.
- Parents Walk In at the Worst Time: Preeti's dad catches her and Arjun kissing on the terrace.
- Platonic Prostitution: Arjun invites prostitutes to his place just to share his grief and talk to them about his love failure.
- Poor Communication Kills: Arjun gives Preeti six hours to decide between him and her parents. When there is no contact or response from her he assumes she doesn't want to be with him, when in reality, she was locked up by her parents and had her phone taken away. When she does manage to come to his house, its too late because he goes into a self-induced coma after injecting himself with drugs.
- Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Asks Shiva to 'close the gates' before beating up opponent team members in football fight.
- Protagonist Title: Arjun Reddy.
