Sundarakanda Review : A Cautious Romantic Comedy That Plays It Safe

Sundarakanda is the biggest Vinayaka Chavithi release, with Ravi Teja’s Mass Jathara getting postponed. The movie is produced by Santhosh Chinnapolla, Gowtham Reddy, and Rakesh Mahankalli. Telugu Funda presents its review.

Telugu Funda’s reveal of the premise:

Siddharth (Nara Rohith), a seasoned bachelor, has long dodged the altar, much to his parents’ weary resignation. He is on a relentless quest for the ideal woman, one who embodies five distinct traits that have haunted his heart since his childhood sweetheart.

Fate nudges him into Eira (Vriti Vaghani), whose warmth and charm instantly captivate him. Undeterred by their age gap, Siddharth pursues her with fervent hope, convinced she is his destined match. But a startling revelation looms, threatening to unravel his dream of a celestial love story.

Telugu Funda’s take on the Performances:

1. Nara Rohith: He has always been a minimalist performer, never straining his facial muscles. Classy family man/romantic guy roles suit him. Sundarakanda makes the best use of his calibre.
2. The female leads: Vriti Vaghani and Sridevi Vijaykumar add a dash of cuteness to the proceedings. While the latter should have been way more nuanced, she is not out of place.
3. The comedians: Satya plays a college lecturer who gets to tag along with the male lead. He is fun to watch. Sunaina plays his wife.
4. Supporting artists: VK Naresh is a caricaturish Telugu cinema father. His quirkiness should have been explored in ‘pelli choopulu’ scenes. Vasuki Anand is largely wasted; as the male lead’s sister, she deserved a drama-filled scene. Abhinav Gomatam, Raghu Babu, and others play small roles.

Telugu Funda’s take on the Technical Departments.

Sundarakanda is a low-budget affair whose production values slightly outcompete your average Aha or ZEE5 original. The cinematography (by Pradeesh M Varma) is so flat that the makers might have made it for a direct OTT release, but they happened to luck out. The music by Leon James, again, is conventional. No situation demands an imaginative song from the composer. Everything is in a meet-cute zone in the first half.

Telugu Funda’s Analysis:

Ahead of Tuesday’s paid premieres, social media was abuzz with a twist in the story. Well, if you walk into the theatre with full knowledge about the presence of a twist, you can see it coming from afar. Director Venkatesh Nimmalapudi’s screenplay should have been smart enough to nip the predictability in the bud. Scripts like this one need a hyper-conscious approach right from the stage of marketing. You hold onto full information about your star cast. Your trailer cut is clever.

Sundarakanda is largely a risk-averse film with no interest in new narrative innovations. The overemphasis on light-veined narration makes the characters feel like reductive archetypes in the second half. The post-interval portions are packed with contrived situations because the protagonists wouldn’t talk like they have to sit and iron out issues.

Some situations are so banal that they should ideally have been in a low-stakes web film. Some casting choices – like that of VK Naresh – straight away strip the film of its narrative integrity. They try hard to generate laughs at the expense of the male lead. The plot turns curiously ridiculous when a key character finds a uniquely bizarre reason to snap ties with her potential soul mate

In recent years, a limited number of films have succeeded by stretching out a thin line. Sree Vishnu’s Samajavaragamana is an example. On the other hand, films like Bellamkonda Ganesh’s Swathi Muthyam couldn’t. Sundarakanda lies somewhere between the two extremes.

Telugu Funda’s Verdict:

Sundarakanda is a largely conventional and risk-averse film that offers a passable, if uninspired, viewing experience. Nara Rohith delivers a fittingly understated performance, and the light-hearted treatment is moderately engaging. However, a predictable twist, contrived situations, and a lack of narrative originality in the second half prevent it from rising above the level of a typical OTT release.

Rating: 2.5

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