Film: Sundarakanda
Rating: 2/5
Banner: Chaitra Cinema Circuit
Cast: Charmy, Allari Naresh, Ranganath, Kota Sreenivasa Rao, Prema, Sangeetha, Rallapalli, Laxmipathi, Kondavalasa, Vizag Prasad, Sunil Sharma etc
Camera: RK Raju
Music: Vidya Sagar
Written By: Mullapudi Venkata Ramana
Produced By: K Aparna
Directed By: Bapu
Released On: 8th Feb 2008
Story:
Ram Gopal Varma (Sunil Sharma) is the son of Bobbili Raja (Ranganath). He goes to a picnic where he falls in love and lust with a girl (Prema). He ‘spends with her’ and also gets married in the presence of tribal people (!!!)
He comes home along with her. Knowing that his son got married without his consent, Bobbili Raja catches up paralyses in shock. When everybody goes to hospital, the wife of Bobbili Raja (Sangeetha) talks to Prema and tells her that her arrival brought bad omen to their family. Then Prema decides to get out of that house and walks away in silence (in fact this is the first scene that lacks weight. How can she walk out without valuing her love?). When Varma comes home, his uncle (Vizag Prasad) bluffs that the bride ran away with jewelry and proved her pilfering character. Varma believes that and continues to live as a bachelor.
16 years pass in silence. Then Pinky (Charmy), the daughter of Prema, comes to Varma’s village with a mission. Her mission is to unite her parents. How she accomplishes her task is rest of the drama. A journalist (Allari Naresh) stands as her friend. He has no role than that.
Along with this, Bapu has shown how today’s politicians are behaving. He used symbolisms for that.
Performances:
Sunil Sharma is just ok. SP Balu’s dubbing for him is very bold and too dramatic. Charmy is ok with her hyper active performance. Singer Sunitha’s dubbing for her is just ok. Kota did well in his role and others are ok in their shoes.
Music by Vidya Sagar is good and the lyrical clarity is maintained very well. Cinematography by Raju is fine.
Make up is very bad, especially for Sunil Sharma. Using kohl for eyebrows and lashes has shown him as a Kathakali dancer!!! Prema looked slim and young and make up used for her in a few scenes is also bad.
Mullapudi Venkata Ramana’s dialogues are just ok and not in pace with present trend and humor. Out dated odor is observed in big way. Bapu maintained his trademark but failed to give a contemporary product.
Analysis:
The movie is no way connecting to the trend either in the set of characters chosen or in the style of presentation. And adding to that it couldn’t gel well with the audiences at least in the substance. It’s like watching a dance ballet to some extent and a mime show for some time. Bapu relied on symbolisms especially while depicting the character of Kota, which cannot be swallowed by the commercial movie audience.
Bapu has shown his typical trademark than showing the drama is commercial way possible. The movie is no way a cup of tea for mass audience. They simply shun it. And even the class audiences find it hard to enjoy the film unlike previous films of Bapu.
What’s the time of the story that runs in the movie? That is the biggest doubt comes into the heads of many. The typical Bobbili Raja fort and antique pieces in hero’s house resemble something beyond 60 years ago. But the story is completely contemporary. Bapu failed in developing strong scenes those are required to boost up the conviction in narration. The songs in the movie are ok but over dosed with melodrama and hyper activity.
The movie is strictly for those who are the ardent lovers of Bapu’s films; no matter they enjoy whatever is shown.
(SiraSri can be reached at [email protected])
