Sundaram Master marks the debut of Viva Harsha as the hero for the first time in his career. Ravi Teja has bankrolled this film which has Divya Sripada as the female lead. The film was released today and read our detailed review here.
Sundaram Master Story: Sundaram Master(Harsha) is a small-time government teacher who is all set to tie the knot. The MLA of his area orders him to go to the forest area of Miryalamitta and find out where a precious idol is being saved by the villagers and get a huge government position in return. Sundaram Master lands in the forest area and starts his journey as a teacher. Did he find the idol? What experience did he face with the villagers and did he cheat them? is the basic story of the film.
Performances: Sundaram Master has Viva Harsha in the lead role and he is the one who saves the day with his sincere performance. He gets a lot of scope to showcase varied emotions and Harsha does well in the film. He did well in the emotional scenes as well. The female lead, Divya Sripada has a striking screen presence but was not at all utilized properly. Harshvardhan as the cunning MLA was okay. The rest of the cast who played the villagers were not up to the mark. A few more known faces would have made things a lot better.
Technical Aspects: Sricharan Pakala has composed the music for this film and it is good. The BGM was ordinary though. The camerawork showcasing the forest visuals was great. The production design and set work laid in the forest were superb and gave the film an authentic vibe. The editing is okay but the screenplay was disappointing. There are not many scenes that hold your attention. The story is good on paper but falters in execution.
Analysis: Kalyan Santhosh has written and directed Sundaram Master, a coming-of-age drama. The backdrop of the film is pretty interesting and its aim is also good. The coming-of-age drama also looks impressive on paper. But all this is not transformed onto the screen sadly. The film starts on an interesting note and has decent comedy in the first half.
But when one thinks the film turns into an emotional thriller, the narrative forces us into the emotional transformation of the hero which does not work. Everything looks forced into the narrative and all this happens as the director fails to elevate the conflict right from the beginning of the film. The key second falters in no time and so many unnecessary scenes bore the audience.
The concept of fighting with the British showcased through the scenes of Yuvraj Singh hitting six sixes in a row is narrated in a very good manner. The film has so much scope to showcase comedy and make it a thriller, but the director Kalyan chooses it to be a coming-of-age drama.
The ending is rushed and does not sync with the narrative. Viva Harsha does well but the supporting cast is not that good. If more proper depth into certain aspects of the film had gone, the output would have been different. The director should be credited for trying something different but his experience speaks in many areas sadly.
Verdict: Overall, Sundaram Master has a few laughs here and there but is majorly aimless. It is neither funny nor thrilling and the coming-of-age drama looks half-baked and ends as a film with a missed opportunity. Viva Harsha is the only savior with his sincere performance.
Bottom Line – Viva Harsha shines
Rating: 2.25/5
