'Sarangadhariya', produced by Uma Devi and Sarath Chandra Challapalli, will hit the screens this Friday (July 12th). Here is our review of the family drama.
Story:
Krishna Kumar (Raja Raveender) works as a professor at a small-town college. His two sons Sai and Arjun are jobless and come with their own set of issues. His daughter Anu is of marriageable age and is hotly wooed by a youngster.
All hell breaks loose when a shocking truth about the family's best-kept secret is revealed at the interval. What is the secret all about? Is this seemingly regular family-next-door guilty of something? Will it face societal pressure and boycott? What will unite the otherwise friction-ridden family? That's what the second half is about.
Performances & Technical Departments:
Raja Raveender (also spelt as Raja Ravindra) gets to headline this family drama the way Prakash Raj got to front 'Rangamarthanda' recently and Rajendra Prasad got to lead 'Aa Naluguru' many years ago. With his understated acting, he is effective in a few emotional scenes. Neela Priya Devulapalli plays his wife who occasionally fulfils the role of a peace-maker within the family.
Shivakumar Ramachandravarapu plays Anu's suitor, while Yashaswini Srinivas plays the central character who eventually attains prominence in the course of the story. Mohi Shm is okay in the role of a heartbroken youngster with a drinking problem and anger issues. Mohit Pedada plays the younger son who enjoys wooing a girl from a faith different from his. Sreekanth Iyengar gets to essay a routinely written negative character.
Sidharth Swayamboo's cinematography is purely functional, while M Ebenezer Paul's music is better.
Analysis:
Director Padmarao Abbisetti (Pandu) spends the first half with many inconsequential scenes that serve up entertainment more than emotions. Arjun, the elder son, ruins a marital alliance deliberately with his verbal diarrhea. A scene that follows later tries to build sympathy for him. The younger son, Sai, is preoccupied with his own 'chilipi' indulgences. His rift with the elder brother is an excuse to offer fun more than tension.
Meanwhile, the mother is preoccupied with showing frustration at her children. At the college, the father offers motivational lessons, while at home, he has only gaslighting to offer in a lot of scenes. What makes him a cut above many others of his age is that he believes in changing people's mindsets and mending broken relationships. This aspect of his character should have been explored more profoundly.
'Sarangadhariya' works when it offers progressiveness. It comes with a rare conflict plot point involving a family member. "Don't bother about how society judges you," is told without sounding preachy. Family is the single strongest pillar that holds Indian society together. In the film under review, it is the family that becomes the anchor providing its members a support system in the face of a crisis.
The film is also good in terms of coming up with a new spin on the sister sentiment trope. There are no cheap dialogues in the name of playing to the gallery. The heavy-duty culmination of the different threads is treated with a touch of melodrama, complete with a medical emergency. The level of emotional catharsis achieved would have been memorable had the clash between a rich man and Krishna's family not been so regular.
Vox Verdict:
'Sarangadhariya' is a progressive family drama that presents a rare interval bang. It should have built upon the potential offered by the interval reveal.
Rating: 2.5/5
