A small film titled, Sindhooram starring Siva Balaji, Dharma, and Brigida Saga in key roles under the direction of Shyam Tummalapalli has hit the screens today. Let’s see how it fares.
Story: The film happens in 2003. Set in a village named Srirama Giri in Khammam district, the film has naxalism backdrop where Singanna( Siva Balaji) is seen as Dhalam’s head. Dharma( Ravi) an educated youth turns informer for Naxalites and carries news from the village to Naxals in the forest. On the other hand, Sirish ( Brigida Saga) the younger sister of landlord Eshwar Reddy( Ravi Varma) takes charge as the Mandal MRO. What happens next? How does Sirisha bring change in the people’s mindset with her activities? Role of Dharma in the entire setup? What is the actual identity of Singanna? To know that, you have to watch the film in the nearest theatres.
Performances: Undoubtedly, the heroine Brigida Saga is a surprise package of the film. Be it her dignified makeover as a mandal MRO or her natural performance, Brigida impresses big time. Her dialogue delivery and commendable acting in all key scenes bring a fresh vibe to the proceedings.
Dharma did his lead role perfectly. His dialogue delivery and facial expressions while performing intense scenes add realistic texture to the proceedings. Especially, his emotional acting during the last twenty minutes is nice without any overboard melodrama.
Siva Balaji is fine in his Naxal leader role. He portrayed the crucial role that has multiple shades quite effectively. Other padding artists such as Ravi Varma among others are alright in their limited yet key roles.
Technicalities: Music by Gowra Hari is the soul of the film. While three situational songs are audible on screen, his background score for all the crucial scenes is good. His hard work to lift the film with an impactful BGM score is visible on the screen.
The cinematography work by Kesav is fine as he captured the rustic texture of the film nicely. The drown shots used to showcase the vast Forest region are neatly done. Editing by Jesvin Prabu is alright. If he would have trimmed the film for close to ten minutes, the result would have been much better.
Production values for this tight-budget movie by Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Movie Makers banner are okay.
Analysis: While Shyam Tummalapalli directed, Kishore Sri Krishna penned dialogues for this intense social drama. Shyam’s idea of showcasing the dark side of Naxalism is good and executed the film on a decent note.
Considering the genre, Shyam’s straight-to-the-point narrative without any deviations might get acceptance from the audience who like revolutionary dramas. Kishore Sri Krishna’s dialogues on communalism and communist leaders are good and an eye-opener to the Naxal leaders.
To summarize, Sindhooram is a sincere attempt from the team which explores the Naxalism-involved situations that prevailed in the early 2000s. Though the lead artists gave a good performance and the film has a proper scene order without too many unwanted sub-plots, the serious narrative might not get universal approval.
Verdict: Realistic approach!
Rating: 2.5/5
