TAPASSI Movie Review Rating – 2.75/5

Tapassi is a bold Kannada film that attempts to unravel the darker side of the modeling world and urban youth culture. Inspired by real-life incidents in Bengaluru, the film follows the journey of a young girl who is drawn into a web of glamour, addiction, and emotional turmoil. It is a film that wants to shock, inform, and start a conversation but does not always succeed in doing so.

At its core, Tapassi is about vulnerability and the price of blind ambition. Ammayra Goswami, who plays the title role, gives a committed performance and carries much of the film on her shoulders. While her portrayal is heartfelt, there are moments where her inexperience shows and the emotional intensity falls a bit short. V Ravichandran appears in a calm and composed mentor-like role, but his character feels incomplete and does not add much to the progression of the story.

Visually, the film succeeds in capturing a certain raw and realistic tone. The atmosphere is grim and suits the themes it deals with such as drug abuse, peer pressure, and misplaced trust. However, the storytelling often feels repetitive and the screenplay tends to show Tapassi’s pain from a distance instead of allowing us to feel it closely. This results in a gap between what we see and what we connect with.

Director Virat deserves appreciation for taking on a subject that many would avoid. The intention is strong, but the execution lacks emotional weight and clear focus. The film highlights important issues but does not fully explore the minds of its characters.

In the end, Tapassi is a sincere attempt that could have been more powerful with sharper writing and deeper emotional engagement. It is a relevant watch for those who are interested in issue-based cinema, but it might not leave a lasting emotional impact. It creates awareness but stops short of creating a deep emotional experience.