Sathi Gani Rendu Ekaralu' movie review: With poverty writ large all over
Poverty porn has been a favourite theme of Indian filmmakers for long. A penury-struck protagonist immediately evokes the audience's sympathy. You always want him to emerge victorious and thus root for him.
So is our Sathi (Jagadeesh Pratap), hero of 'Sathi Gani Rendu Ekaralu' who inherits a piece of land from his grandfather with instructions that he should dutifully pass it on to his children and not squander it as his forefathers did.
Sathi needs money for the treatment of his newborn and is left with no option but to sell the land.
Coincidentally, at the same time Sathi and his friend Anji (Raj Tirandasu), a petty thief, stumble upon a briefcase full of raw diamonds.
Sathi and Anji's efforts to sell these precious stones to overcome their problems is what the movie directed by Abhinav Dhanda is about.
Rural Telangana has emerged as a major backdrop in movies after 'Balagam'. Here too we are treated to sumptuous visuals of lush green fields and daily rustic charm of a village.
The physical appearance of Jagadeesh Pratap of 'Pushpa' fame is very similar to Allu Arjun of the same movie. Jagdeesh does justice in his interpretation of Sathi, a poor father who is desperate to do something for his family.
Performance-wise he is the only one worth taking a note of. All others give a stock performance if not irritating.
However, the major problem lies with the narrative. Despite a promising plot, the execution is not quirky enough. In fact, at times it seems to be overstretched and outrageous.
Neither the situations nor the story throws up any genuine scenes laced with laughter. Still, there is a very feeble attempt to create humour through BGM which is screeching for the most part of it.
Vennela Kishore's character gets too much screen space though it's neither central to the story nor well-developed.
The characterization of the cop played by Bhitri Sathi and the way he conducts an inquiry is pathetic.
Though the story seems to be complete after a hurried end, the title makes it clear that 'Sathi...' is just the first chapter which is considerably mundane and not a laugh riot as intended.
Maybe the loopholes like a weak plot and even weaker direction will be overcome in next chapter. Executing a comedy is not a joke at all and' Sathi...' stays average on that score. It misses the opportunity to be a slice-of-the-life comic caper.
Till then, Sathi and his two acres of land can be found on aha.
Title: Sathi Gani Rendu Ekaralu
OTT: aha
Director: Abhinav Dhanda
Cast: Jagdeesh Pratap, Raj Trinadasu
