[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text css_animation=”right-to-left” css=”.vc_custom_1440767775821{background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][review][/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css_animation=”left-to-right” css=”.vc_custom_1437643601754{background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: contain !important;}”]STORY: The film narrates the story of an youngster, who vows to live by the values taught by his father. However, his life turns topsy-turvy when his father passes away in a freak accident.
MOVIE REVIEW: You can trust Trivikram Srinivas to hit all the right notes, especially when it comes to exploring familial relationships. If his previous film, Atharintiki Daredhi dealt with the relationship between a hero and his aunt, his latest drama S/O Satyamurthy is all about the father-son bonding. Unfortunately, the film only has glimpses of everything one expects from Trivikram and Allu Arjun, which is a pity.
The film is narrated from Viraj Anand’s (Allu Arjun) point of view. And right from the onset, we are told that he wants to continue his father’s (Satyamurthy) legacy. In the process, he finds himself becoming the very thing his father wanted him to be – a humble, caring and kind person. Satyamurthy (Prakash Raj) is the epitome of all the goodness in the world, which in turn has a huge impact on Viraj. One fine day, Viraj’s life turns topsy-turvy when his father passes away in an accident. Later, he becomes the pillar of support to his family and the rest of the story is about how he regains everything that he loses in the beginning. In the midst of this riches-to-rags-to-riches story, he finds himself confronting Devaraj (Upendra), who holds the key to prove that Satyamurthy is truly a man of honour.
At a thematic level, the film sounds near perfect and it almost seems like Trivikram wants us to believe that there is still plenty of hope left in this world. That not everyone is cunning and cruel, and more importantly, your actions will have a long lasting impression on people around you. What’s also interesting about the film is that it presents a smartly written character study of Viraj, especially when he tries to dig deep within himself to explore his relationship with his father. His girlfriend, Sameera (Samantha) is a diabetic; Sameera’s father (Rajendra Prasad) is obsessed with money; Devaraj himself loves his wife (Sneha) so much that he wouldn’t spill any blood in front of her.
Despite all these interesting aspects, the film just doesn’t have the verve of an Allu Arjun’s film or the structure of a Trivikram’s film, where you care about every character till the end. However, it’s by no means a lazy film. In the beginning, the unpredictability of the proceedings takes you by surprise, but in the larger scheme of things, they don’t just add up to the extent where you would be forced to invest emotionally in the characters. What this film has in plenty is dialogues – the exact type of rhythmic lines you expect from Trivikram. His obsession with epics, Gods and rise of heroes in mythology finds ample space in the script and just to make it clear what exactly he is trying to suggest, Trivikram makes several characters quote instances from the lives of Rama, Sita, Ravana, Yudhisthira, and Karna to name a few. While the analogies are apt, it’s a million dollar question if the director has lost faith in the audience to grasp the subtext in the film.
Allu Arjun finds himself in a new avatar, both in terms of styling and performance. While he has certainly toned down the quantum of energy, which he brings into most of his characters, you begin to wonder if he’s too big to fit into Viraj Anand’s shoes. Except in scenes where he gets sucked into a whirlpool of emotions while talking about his father, it’s tough to root for him. In the second half, it’s actors like Upendra, Rajendra Prasad and Sneha who steal the show with their respective performances. Samantha and Nithya Menen play their roles well, although there’s only so much that you can expect from them, knowing that they aren’t in the spotlight for most part of the film. On the other hand, Adah Sharma has a small role to play where she has more dialogues that begin with ‘actually’ than the expressions she’s allowed to portray.
In the end, there are a bunch of interesting moments and well-written dialogues that linger in your mind. But, this is far from the best works of Trivikram or Allu Arjun in recent times. It’s not even the lack of enough number of rip-roaringly hilarious scenes that strikes your mind, but the randomness with which most part of the film has been dealt with that is more jarring. The film works well as an idea, and leaves you with enough questions and thoughts to reflect upon your own life, but as a cinematic experience, it leaves a lot to be desired.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpnENU952gc” css=”.vc_custom_1437643676239{background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
