The cinematic portrayal of kids on screen imagined by adults is often an issue, just like men writing the characters of women. In Sopathulu too, the two kids, Chimptu and Guddu imagined by writer-director Ananth Vardhan, never like kids. They behave like adults and it is refreshing to see. I wouldn’t even hesitate to say the Bromance of two kids is not less than any two intense lovers.
Sopathulu, meaning friends in Telangana dialect, is set in Mahabubabad in Covid years. The two friends, Chimptu and Guddu, are divided by the COVID lockdown and the economic class. The plot-line chosen by Ananth is perfect to explore the digital divide that everyone who lives through the COVID has experienced. And, the premise of smartphones of Rs.10,000 being essential for a poor debt-ridden father’s struggle to provide education in English medium is certainly a connected subject for everyone. But, the element is not explored well and left mid-way for the sake of Bromance.
Sopathulu touches on the subjects of youth’s aspirations, rural’s stigma around love, and the question of the prestige of a middle class father. Yet, after a point, it tries to cinema-tecise the drama with slo-mo and music and it loses its overall intended effect. It would have been better to have dialogue than music to make the audience feel the intensity of an emotion. For example, the scene where Mohan Bhagath hugs Guddu after knowing that Guddu had been accused of stealing the smartphones. We should have listened to what Guddu was really feeling. Music can only supplement the emotion, dialogues will always have that emotive power. The right usage of dialogue and minimal intrusion of music can be seen in the scene where Guddu’s father is having lunch in the fields and the fellow worker comments on his aspirations of making his son study in English medium. That scene worked perfectly for its subtlety.
ETV Win has been successfully making the feel-good dramas that are intended to trigger nostalgia. However, the syndrome of cinema-tecising the the simple dramas dilutes the true emotion of the scenes and it disconnects the audience to look away, probably at the attention grabbing smartphone.
Rating: 2.5/5
Sopathulu is now streaming on ETV WIN.
Follow Telugu Funda on trending Social Media Platforms for more Cinema, OTT, Political, And Sports updates
