Cult movie review: An earnest Zaid Khan cannot save this utterly regressive tale of love

Mahava, a.k.a. Maddy, has a set routine in life: smoke, drink, and pass out. No prizes for guessing that he is a “victim” of a love failure. This romanticisation of the “brooding, broken-hearted” men is one of the major problems of Anil Kumar’s Cult, which is so cliched that it gets dreadful by the minute.

Maddy’s girlfriend, Geetha (Maliaka Vasupal), ditches him for a “better lifestyle” after she moves to Bengaluru from a village for higher studies. According to the director, a better lifestyle is a happening nightlife and a boyfriend who splurges money. If that isn’t an insult to several women who move to Bengaluru from small towns with big dreams, the movie vilifies women as gold diggers.

The storytelling is so outdated that the protagonist transforms into a “love guru” after a breakup. Maddy hates the idea of love, and there is no earthly reason why the film revolves around this plot point for more than half an hour. If that’s not enough, the director treats his audience as infants, as he makes his protagonist write his hatred for love on walls and mirrors. The ridiculously bad dialogues (”dude, love is nude”) make things worse.

Maddy meets Ithi (Rachitha Ram), who transforms his life. She is another broken soul. So what does she do? Smoke, drink and pass out! Anilkumar gives a tragic backstory for Ithi, but it’s easy to tell that it’s just an attempt to manipulate your emotions.

Cult has stock characters. Take, for instance, the character essayed by rapper All Ok. He is the protagonist’s best friend who takes the film’s two hours of runtime to stop funding his alcohol addiction. It’s only then that he realises that he needs to advise Maddy to focus on education to stop wasting his parents’ hard-earned money. The self-destructive hero reminds you of Arjun Reddy, but Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s conviction in storytelling is missing in Anil Kumar, who has made a film with a sheer lack of imagination. How else can you escape the stereotypical appearance of the hero? He grows a beard, develops a passion for guitars and drums out of nowhere, and prefers to remain in a state of pathos.

Zaid Khan is earnest in his second outing as a hero. He dances, fights, and emotes with intent. Sometimes, nothing can save a poor script. What’s more shocking is to imagine these kinds of stories being passed off as potential hits to convince producers.