Utsavam marks the directorial debut of Arjun Sai. Produced by Suresh Patil under the banner of Hornbill Pictures, the film features Dilip Prakash and Regina Cassandra in the lead roles. Read our detailed review and know if the film has any juice in it or not.
Story: Krishna Abhimanyu(Dileep Prakash), son of Abhimanyu Narayana (Prakash Raj), a key member of the Surabhi Drama Council. Passionate about reviving the fading art of theater, Krishna faces numerous challenges. Meanwhile, Mahadev Naidu(Nasser) with the help of Rama (Regina Cassandra), introduces corporate weekend plays. As Krishna and Rama’s love blossoms, conflicts arise, preventing their wedding. The play ‘Daksha Yagnam’ becomes central to their journey. Will the couple overcome obstacles and rekindle their love? This forms the crux of the film’s plot.
Performances: Dileep Prakash delivers a mature performance, handling emotions and gestures with ease. Regina Cassandra not only looks beautiful but also impresses with her acting skills. However, the standout performances come from veteran artists like Brahmanandam, Prakash Raj, Nasser, Rajendra Prasad, Ali, LB Sriram, and Prema, who deliver dialogues in pure Telugu. They bring a lot of depth to the film with their character arcs and the way they go about playing it.
Technical Aspects: Rasul Ellore‘s cinematography is largely unremarkable, except for the Daksha Yagnam sequence. Anoop Rubens‘ music is mediocre, and the production design and artwork fall short of expectations. Director Arjun Sai deserves credit for selecting a unique plot. However, he fell short in effectively portraying it. The editing is not that great as there are so many padding scenes that could have been chopped off.
Analysis: Utsavam is a film that has an intense subject that is devoid of much entertainment. So, for such subjects to click, the screenplay should be racy and arresting but that does not happen in the film as things are taken for granted. The screenplay feels disjointed, with scenes following one another without any clear connection. Despite some promising ideas, the execution is lacking.
The way scenes are composed fails to impress, and while Arjun Sai has creative potential as a writer, he needs to develop his directorial skills to effectively translate those ideas into a cohesive film. In this regard, he falls short as a director. The film suffers from artificial dialogues, a clichéd love story, and a lack of genuine emotional depth.
The dialogues come off as forced and unrealistic, while the romantic subplot feels superficial and unconvincing. Additionally, there is a noticeable absence of heartfelt connection and emotional engagement, leaving the audience disconnected from the characters and their relationships which makes the viewing experience quite boring. The performances are good but to back that the needed emotions do not hold your attention.
Verdict: Overall, Utsavam is a genuine thought to narrate a story on an honest note. But the screenplay goes for a toss and how the film keeps falling off tracks with multiple issues makes the film a boring watch this weekend.
Bottom Line: Boring and outdated
Utsavam Rating: 2/5
