Movie: Suryakantam
Rating: 2.25/5
Banner: Nirvana Cinemas
Cast: Niharika Konidela, Rahul Vijay, Perlene Bhesania, Shivaji Raja, Sathya, Suhasini Maniratnam and others
Music: Mark Robin
Cinematography: Hari Jasthi
Editor: Raviteja Girijala
Art director: Avinash Kolla
Producers: Sundeep Yerramreddy , Srujan Yarabolu , Ram Naresh
Written and direction: Pranith Bramandapally
Release date: Mar 29, 2019
“Suryakantam” starring Niharika Konidela and Rahul Vijay in lead roles has succeeded in generating good buzz thanks to its promotional material.
Niharika is the main reason that attracted attention. This is Niharika’s third film as actress.
Let’s analyze.
Story:
The story revolves around Abhi (Rahul Vijay), Suryakantam (Niharika) and Pooja (Perlene Bhesania). Abhi lands in a peculiar situation when his first love Suryakantam leaves him for no rhyme or reason.
Assuming that she has gone for good as she always gets scared of commitment, he agrees to get engaged with Pooja whom his parents choose for him.
When they are about to marry, Suryakantam reappears. What happens next is the rest of the drama.
Artistes’ Performances:
Niharika has not improved as actress though she looks fitted in the role as Suryakantam. She lacks the skills to portray such a pivotal role.
Rahul Vijay is okay as a regular youngster. New girl Perlene, Suhasini Manirathnam as Niharika’s mother and comedian Sathya …all have done their typical roles in typical way.
Technical Excellence:
Music is mixed bag. Cinematography and production values are nothing to complain about. The editing is uneven; 2.05 hours of runtime it gives a lengthy feel. Dialogue writing is clichéd.
Highlights:
Some scenes
Drawback:
Clichéd storyline
Boring narration
Outdated jokes
Short-film type setup
Analysis
Most romantic dramas look similar because plots in love stories keep getting repeated. Then how would they click?
The trick lies in telling. "Suryakantam" which was projected as new age rom-com has failed miserably in the key important aspect - engaging narration.
New director Pranith's "Suryakantam" begins on narrating the story of Rahul Vijay, that his parents are desperate to get him married. A girl comes to his house for "Pelli Choopulu" and the alliance is fixed and then he reveals that he has "Suryakantam" (Niharika) in his life.
The conflict is established in the very first reels. A boy and two girls! What is new in this triangle love story? To add something new, the director has made Suryakantam as a girl who has a past life that makes her run away from home for days.
The hero is easily attracted to her, she too likes him but dodges on going further. The director focuses on repartee lines for the most part in the first half to establish a romantic thread between Rahul Vijay and Niharika.
The jokes are pretty bland. Niharika’s ‘muddu muddu’ dialogue delivery and eccentric expressions makes us irritated after a point. Though the director has given a clarification why she is behaving like that in the later part of the movie, those expressions are not all that funny.
Since the film is made limited budget in typical low-cost web series, the director has tried to convince with smart lines but most of them are dumb that give us yawn.
The emotional climax and the sacrifice for love is convincing but by then we lose interest in the movie. The movie’s biggest drawback is not superficial plot but bad narration. This is straight third disappointing film from Niharika.
Except for a few feel-good moments in the end, this film offers very little solace.
Bottom-line: Nothing new
