In Laila, Vishwak Sen's character Sonu morphs into a woman. Two things unfold after this: crass sexualization of the character, and situating the 'woman' in awkward situations (for example, a fake molestation charge against an inspector). The in-your-face get-up reminds us of the unabashed Rajendra Prasad style from the 1990s movie, Madam. While the Nata Kireeti dignified the occasionally problematic humour in Madam, one has to see if Vishwak Sen will succeed in that. Close-up shots of the made-up cleavage and the midriff are odd in the Teaser.
Laila is directed by Ram Narayan. Shine Screens, which has made flops like Krishnagarjuna Yuddham, Tuck Jagadish, Gaali Sampath, and Ugram, has produced two hits thus far: Naga Chaitanya's Majili and Balakrishna's Bhagavanth Kesari. The success of Laila will put the banner firmly in the game. Since their movie with Balakrishna was a commercial hit, hope producer Sahu Garapati strikes gold for the second time in a row.
Laila, with music by Leon James, will head to theaters on February 14. February is usually a lean season at the cinemas. Vishwak Sen badly needs a hit after the failure of Gangs of Godavari and Mechanic Rocky last year.
