To begin with the title “Pencil” is no brain squeezer. “Pencil” is peddled as GVP’s debut movie and there is a lot of curiosity for this much delayed or lost “Pencil”. “Pencil” a murder mystery, is by a first time movie maker and happens mostly in a school campus. There are unconfirmed reports of this being inspired by a Korean movie. The movie begins by crediting the story to a real life incident.
The story starts off quite decently by staying faithful to the cliché school skirmishes and the romance between the lead pair. The decent first half then stumbles into a lengthy second half and an agonizing Sundar C kind of climax. ISO certification for the school becomes not just an irritant to the Principal but also to the viewers after a while. “Pencil” lacks the charm or the innocence of a school environment and ends up as a dumb mature movie without any ingenuity or thrill.
GVP, the lead (is he?) fits the bill as a school student physically. His character surprisingly is not etched well and looks plain all through the movie. Sree Divya has the most to do in the movie. Though she looks a little out of sorts in the school uniform she makes up with a mature performance. The highlight of the movie is the debutant villain Shariq Hassan in the role of Nithin and he does full justice to his role. The other actors are veterans and perform admirably. It’s the performance of the cast that “Pencil” rests on.
Music is so-so by GVP as his acting. Perhaps he had TWO much to do. Editing is crisp, so is the camera work. Good dialogues, OK screenplay with some guffaws thrown in between ensures that it is not a long drawn bore. The direction is good for a first timer. On the whole “Pencil” is as predictable as a school uniform.
“Pencil” – Long drawn and blunt.
2.5/5
By Shreesha B U
