Cast: Sharwanand, Anupama Parameswaran, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha, Naresh, Indraja, Raja Ravindra, Sijju, Satish, Dil Raju
Banner: Sri Venkateswara Creations
Music: Mickey J Meyer
Cinematography: Sameer Reddy
Editor: Madhu
Producer: Dil Raju
Story-Screenplay-Direction: Satish Vegesna
Tagline: It’s all about loving your parents
Story:
Raghava Rao (Prakash Raj) and his wife (Jayasudha) are longing to meet their children since a long time. Their sons and daughter settled in a foreign country never find time to visit their native village of Athreyapuram. Raghava Rao takes a strange decision and asks his children to come during Sankranthi festival to discuss further. What is the decision taken by Raghava Rao and how it affects the lives of his family forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Sharawanand: He continues his natural acting and lives through his role. He is a doting grandson who finds happiness in others’ happiness. He pulls off every scene and renders every line with poise and perfection. The romantic and emotional scenes portrays the actor’s mettle in handling things with finesse.
Anupama Parameswaran: She shines with her glimmering presence and cherubic smile. As a maradalu she becomes an apple of everyone’s eyes in the family. She surprises you with her simplicity.
Prakash Raj: He is the tour de force of the film. He brings in an air of detachment with the family as the movies progress, but his real intention of living together and the emotional attachment comes to fore at the end. He slips into the shoes of every parent who is nostalgic about the glorious past with their children.
Jayasudha: She complements Prakash Raj’s character with a fine portrayal of emotions coupled with her strong acting prowess.
Naresh: He is a charmer as Kangaru Raju. He effortlessly checks all the comic buttons.
Indraja: The actress shines in her small yet important role and is more mature in her acting.
Sijju: The yesteryear hero gets a meaty role in the film and he is near perfect in that.
Sitara: She does an important cameo and tugs at your heart strings.
Analysis:
Shatamanam Bhavati is a commentary on all those who neglect the human touch in this mechanical word. Though it becomes preachy at times, it stays close to the zone of emotions and entertainment. Dil Raju and his team bring a perfect outing on this Sankranthi day. For those, who missed the festival and see the same fervour in the film. The frames splatter with the true spirit of Sankranthi and every detail of the festival and its essence are captured on screen.
Director Vegesna Satish must be applauded for dishing out an entertaining fare that makes us realize about what we are really missing when we stay away from the family. The plot may look stale and bleeds of another Kalisundaam Raa for the new generation but sticks to the ethos and values that build a family and society. You can’t expect novelty in the storyline but few moments are way too out of the box. The dialogue is borderline funny. And there are certain creative touches in the form of some songs and resolutions.
Merits:
- Actors and their performances.
- The festive fervour of Sankranthi brought to screen.
- Few emotional moments among the family members.
De-merits:
- Clichéd storyline.
- Predictable screenplay.
- Harping on a point till the end.
Music:
Barring a song, Mickey J Meyer sounds routine for most part of the film. The background score is apt for the film.
Others:
The production design is simply superb. They took lot of efforts to get most of it right. It’s just the glaring green fields remind you of using CGI even for natural places. Cinematography by Sameer Reddy is classy. He cans the rustic locales and bathes the frames with sunlight.
Verdict:
Shatamanam Bhavati is not a novel storyline. However, there is lot of conviction and confidence in Vegesna Satish’s storytelling. He makes you fall for villages and their festivities and gives a message too. Watch it for another sermon of familial ties and how simple things can snowball into a large mess if emotions and relations are not handled properly.
Avg User Rating: 3/5
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