January 13, 2013

Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu Review

I have had my eyes on this movie for a while. For one, it seemed like a feel good movie, and seemed to be one that the whole family can go out and watch together. The sound track was already on my daily playlist. There was no way i was going to miss this movie!
Giving Alex Pandian a miss, i booked tickets for SVSC. The movie starts off slowly. There is no linear narration. Nothing that tells you what the leads are doing for a living, no scenes that spoon feed information to the viewer. Bits and pieces of their daily life are portrayed for the viewer to understand and put together.

The story mainly focuses on family values and the value and importance of having a family. The special bond that the two brothers share, all the things that they convey to each other in their silences, the awkwardness in expressing their love and concern for each other is really touching! There are no Hindi movie style bear hugs or in your face dialogues about how much they love each other. But their demeanor and actions say it all.

It is a movie about family and relationships. About regular people worries like running a home, getting  the daughter married, finding a job and battling the world to make a living. All of the 159 minutes are not action packed with events. Some are just long pauses and mundane dialogues.

But there are some really stirring scenes that will make you forget all the boring bits. The ever smiling good Samaritan father played by Prakash Raj has a memorable role. When he tells his sons that he has not given them money or property but has given them the wings to fly and do what they want, you cannot help but smile with him. And no, its not a all happy movie. It is one hell of a tearjerker. I was telling myself in the head, it is after all a movie, after all a movie, but could not help but cry at each of the over feeling type of dialogues.

Venkatesh as the serious, reserved, brimming with temper guy is very convincing.The love story between Mahesh Babu and Samantha is not really convincing. A guy who doesn't really give bhaav to many a ladies previously, simply falls for her for no special reason.She is wasted in a not so important role. Mahesh Babu is endearing in a movie that doesn't need him to do much of dishum dishum. His crackling chemistry with his grandma is a treat!
However, it is Seetha played by Anjali who walks away with the best role. She was super in engeyum eppodum and has done a fab job again! As the orphaned girl who grows up in their home, she is bubbling with energy and is the driving force in the house. The director hasn't really leveraged the relationship between her and Venkatesh well. For most part of the movie, he is oblivious of her feelings.

The script however could be a little more taut. Many a places, scenes appear to be there just to fill gaps. All  of the duets/dancing songs were totally unnecessary. But the title track and the wedding song make up for the others being shoddily shot. I did not understand many dialogues, cause  i am used to watching Siddharth's movies that have a lot of English in them. The pure telugu in the movie was a little hard to understand in places.

The movie may not have a great new story. But it tells you the value of smiling, being nice and helping people. It tells you that come what may, your family is always there with you. Do not forget to carry your tissues, cause cry you will. But am also sure that you would walk out with a smile!