It is well-known that hero Sudheer Babu collaborated with Palasa 1978 director Karuna Kumar for a rural drama titled, Sridevi Soda Center. Amidst decent buzz, the film has hit the screens today. Let’s analyse it.
Story: Set in a rural backdrop, the film revolves around the love story of an electrician named Suri Babu( Sudheer Babu) and a beautiful girl named Sridevi ( Anandhi). But their love will get a rejection by Sridevi’s father ( role played by Naresh) as Suri is from a low-caste. Later, how will Suri and Sridevi face the further consequences? Against all odds in the caste-based society, will the couple succeed in their life journey? That forms the rest of the story.
Performances: Sudheer Babu mesmerizes will his physical transformation with a well-toned muscular body but his character has been not designed in an authentic manner. Though his performance in a few episodes and in the emotional climax portion is good, most of the time we feel like he is a miscast for the movie as his body language, dialogue delivery and skin tuned are not apt for the premise and the rural backdrop created for the movie.
Heroine Anandhi is beautiful on-screen as a village belle but her chemistry with Sudheer Babu has not been established in a convincing way which indeed dilutes the soul of the movie. Senior actor Naresh is impressive in his performance-oriented role and other actors, who did key roles are okay in their respective roles.
Satya Rajesh and Raghu Babu perfectly fitted in their limited but impactful roles.
Technicalities: Music by Mani Sharma is disappointing as none of the songs is engaging on the screen. Coming to the background score, Mani Sharma’s mark is visible in two of the crucial action episodes in the second half.
The cinematography by Shamdat is good as he showcased the rural locations in the Andhra region nicely. Editing by Sreekar Prasad lacks impact as close to ten minutes in the first half can be chopped off easily for a better experience. Production values for this limited budget film are okay.
While work by Art department has nothing much to discuss, action episodes are choreographed neatly and will impress the targeted mass audience.
Analysis: The basic theme of the film is good as director Karuna Kumar tried to showcase the difficulties in the love tale between a high caste girl and an underdog but his presentation has a serious problem with the hero built-up shots and unnecessary scenes.
When the plotline is clear, the director would have focused on writing an engaging screenplay and proper scene order to create an impact. Instead, Karuna Kumar wasted the entire proceedings in the first half with unwanted elevations of the lead actor which is a major drawback for the film. Interlinking the caste issue in a love story is an ages-old idea but the team has not exposed the scenario and the episodes related to it in a proper manner to impress the audience.
To summarize, Sridevi Soda Center is a love based rural drama that stresses on the ‘Honor Killing’ aspect.
Verdict: Lacks proper presentation!!!
Rating: 2/5
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