Saripodhaa Sanivaaram: Mild Masala

Star Cast: Nani, SJ Suryah, Priyanka Mohan, Abhirami, Aditi Balan, Murali Sharma, and Sai Kumar 
Music Composed by James Bejoy 
Edited by Karthika Srinivas 
Cinematography by Murali 
Directed by Vivek Athreya 

Brace for Impact: Spoilers Ahead 

“First Impressions“

The Greatest Warrior is the one who avoids battle rather than the one who initiates one…

Shri Krishna gave equal importance to all sorts of relationships until he needed to be human. As a son, he became one of the best for Yashoda and Devaki, Nanda and Vasudeva. As a husband, he was the best to each one of his wives. As a brother, he formed bonds to remember for ages with Draupadi and Balarama. As a warrior, he never lost a battle, even when he became Ranchhod. As a philosopher, he gave us the Bhagavad Gita to inspire us for ages. As a lover, he has a profound place in Radha’s and every gopika’s heart. As a relative, he saved his near and dear ones from the wrath of evil. As a lawful person, he never let any criminal go unpunished. So, he became Yama to those criminals while being Chitragupta in accounting for their crimes. At the same time, he worked for the betterment of society and left his mark.

Writer-Director Vivek Athreya seems to have designed his Surya, taking inspiration from Krishna, but at the same time, he forgot to bring Krishna’s spontaneity and playfulness to his character. This made Surya more like Arjuna than Krishna. Arjuna believed in his principles and practiced them all his life. Krishna sided with Dharma and adapted accordingly to establish the right. Arjuna is different. But in the end, Surya ends up as another forgettable hero.

“The Villain(s)“

The characters of the villains, Dayanand (S J Suryah) and Koormanand (Murali Sharma), seem to have been inspired by Ravana and Kubera. Both being step-brothers, they fought for money and a place to rule. However, the characters seem one-dimensional, with each scene only reinforcing what has already been established. Some commercial films work on the principle of villains being unpredictable and cruel. Remember a movie like Rakshana (1993), where you have two brothers – one a politician and the other a psycho. There, they are on the same page, but here they fight with each other. Saripodhaa Sanivaaram needed an escalation of events with the two step-brothers plotting against each other until Surya (Nani) enters the picture. Either they unite to stop him, or he uses their fight to further his plans. Instead, their desire-driven characters end up “telling us” the same things that we can predict from a mile away. It is surprising to see a director like Vivek Athreya resorting to “tell rather than show” in this one. Each character explicitly states their motives, and the villains try to be villains rather than characters. Being a psycho is different from being a nauseating crook.

Also Read: Raayan – Toughened Demonic Angel

“Character names & Casting“

A good writer has a lot to offer by choosing the perfect character names that define their purpose.

Take Surya being the son of Chayadevi. In mythology, Chayadevi is the wife of Surya, but here Vivek Athreya decided to make her Parvati, with Shankaram as the father. The names reflect their characters. Chayadevi has left her “chaya” – meaning her shadow in Hindi – on Surya with her teachings. Shankaram, on the other hand, tries to handle his son’s brightness and rashness to keep him under control, just like how Shiva is described as the reason behind the flourishing universe, always avoiding the necessity to destroy until he decides it’s time. Koormanand is a fitting name for a man with a habit of hiding under his shell of power. Dayanand is apt for a man who never shows an ounce of compassion, mercy, or pity. Charulatha, alias Kalyani, is a name for a girl who is extremely beautiful inside and out, as both names have similar meanings. The casting for each character is exemplary. It is hard to find actors who just look like characters from the film, and Abhirami, Sai Kumar, and SJ Suryah are just right for their roles. Their performances elevate the written material to the next level. Aditi Balan could have been given an even better character and more screen time. Naveen Kumar Gunta, alias Nani, looked good, but his character doesn’t give him enough compared to Middle Class Abbayi (2017) and Nenu Local (2017). Priyanka Mohan looked pretty, but again, she went missing from important scenes just like that.

“Inconsistencies“

Consistency yields results, but if you don’t consistently strive to grow beyond mediocrity, you may end up being inconsistent in translating ideas from paper to screen…

Mythologically, Yama, also known as Samavarthi, got his name due to his ability to treat everyone equally. Even Arjuna hesitated before killing his own blood relatives, but Krishna stood by Dharma. Here, Surya starts off as a person who doesn’t give importance to relations but expresses his anger and punishes wrongdoers. So, after starting off as Samavarthi, he either needs to stay the same or become Krishna from being Arjuna, who does everything respecting Kunti’s words. While Krishna respects everyone, he doesn’t turn a blind eye like Arjuna, who agreed to all five brothers marrying Draupadi. So, Kunti, who is also the mother of Yudhishthira, turns Samavarthi into Arjuna. Later, if he turns into Krishna with the introduction of Satyabhama against Narakasura, then this character could have been special or memorable. Vivek Athreya tried to showcase Surya as Krishna, with him indirectly trying to raise an uprising among the Sokulapalem people. It’s Satyabhama who introduces Krishna to Narakasura. But then everything goes awry with Arjuna never turning into Krishna. So, the character neither remains Samavarthi nor becomes Krishna, which is the end goal. Even the character of Ravana or Narakasura, CI Dayanand, turns from a terrifying one into a terribly underwritten one. The logic this character follows and the investigation he conducts all seem too convenient. Even the climax seems too convenient.

When it comes to building the relationship between Surya (Nani) and Charu (Priyanka), the writing feels weak. Each scene seems to forcefully indicate that they must fall in love, rather than naturally making us feel or that their meeting would be great. The initial scenes of this track, as well as the introduction of SJ Suryah’s character, start off promisingly, suggesting something special is in store for us. However, it all ends up being a simple and predictable tale of good versus evil. Even the revolt of Sokulapalem lacks novelty. We’ve seen such scenes many times before, and recently, the Yevadu (2014) team showcased a similar “rebellion.” A good director needs a strong climax to establish a clear route, but here, while the start and middle seem well thought out, the climax feels rushed or contrived by the demands of a “masala” movie.

“The Climax“

When you derive results from the roots of careful hard work, you end up bearing fruit. However, if you try to take it easy, you may lose focus and direction…

While the execution elevates the writing in many films, this one deserved better staging, mixing, blocking, and visual framing at several important points. The energy that such masala scenes require doesn’t transfer onto the screen. While the writing has some brilliant ideas and convincing logic, they fall apart because the scenes aren’t crisp or fresh. The problem with Ante Sundaraniki (2022) was that predictable scenes regularly appeared between some bright, fresh ones. It almost felt like the writer was trying to deliver his own version by handling cliches in his own style. Here, Vivek Athreya repeated the same mistakes by not bringing freshness to the fore. With every department trying to be as mediocre as possible, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram feels more like a “commercial compromise” than a “novel attempt”.

Just as Krishna encouraged Arjuna to be on the battlefield without reservations like a warrior of Dharma, someone needs to tell Vivek Athreya that his film can only get better with a strong dislike for “Cliché Kauravas.” He has a fresh perspective to approach any novel idea, but he is listening more to “Commercial Shakuni,” who doesn’t encourage “real greatness.” Like a lion that lives with its pride, Vivek needs a good pride of executioners around him with iron focus. Due to a lack of laser-eyed focus, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram ends up being like Pluto, with no clarity about where to place it exactly – a “probable watchable film” or a “half-hearted attempt,” much like how Pluto is a “planet” or a “dwarf planet”.

Theatrical Trailer: