The hero of Laila is called Sonu Model (Vishwak Sen). He is a salon owner, and a specialist in women’s makeup. He is said to be the to-go stylist for every woman in that neighbourhood, but the salon is tacky to a fault. And he is unnecessarily confusing his ‘Mass ka Das’ persona with the character of Sonu, and being a walking talking annoyance. We’ll get back to him in a while. The heroine of Laila is called Jenny. She is a physical trainer in a gym. She also takes classes in public parks. She only wears tight-fitting clothes, and it is par for the course considering her profession. The makers want to only feature her in certain frames, and certain close-ups to appeal to us, the common people whose only reason to watch films is to satiate our depravity. What? You never asked for it? And yet, they are doing it in the garb of appealing to mass audience. We’ll get back to her in a while.

The Telugu film Laila, directed by Ram Narayan and starring Vishwak Sen, outlined its premise clearly in its promotional material. The story revolves around a man forced to disguise himself as a woman to escape a group of men out for his blood — only to be ogled at by the very same pursuers. The trailer openly hinted at the double entendres and adult humour in store. However, the film’s issues extend far beyond its tasteless comedy. The narrative aggressively doubles down on crass, regressive tropes, making nearly every sequence leading up to and following the disguise an ordeal to sit through. Take, for example, a subplot where a family rejects multiple prospective brides because they are not “beautiful” enough to match the glamour of heroines from Chiranjeevi’s blockbuster films. Their eventual choice — a fair-skinned, stunning bride — shatters their illusions when her makeup wears off, revealing dark skin. The son is devastated, while the father, in apparent shock, is nearly paralysed. It is hard to believe that such tone-deaf sequences, masquerading as comedy, are still being written in 2025.