Sontha Oooru is a brave attempt by director Sunil Kumar Reddy to make a movie on a socially relevant subject of economic development eroding core human values. A subject which hardly interests or matters to the mainstream movie industry which is more interested in churning out larger-than-life commercial flicks. That said, Sontha Oooru does not make the desired impact due to its execution which leaves it as a lengthy documentary

What is it about :The story unfolds in a picturesque village on the city outskirts where people are happy in their idyllic life. Very soon, the villagers are offered huge amounts of money to part with their land for a Pharma factory SEZ. Initially reluctant, they are convinced by the village elder Devudu Babu (Tanikella Bharani) that the SEZ is for their own prosperity and they willingly sell away their ancestral lands. The second half is about how the easy money corrupts the villagers and they leave the village to become faceless entities in the city. This entire movie is narrated through the eyes of cremation ground undertaker Rudraswamy (L B Shriram). The tragic love story between Raja and Theertha is another sub-plot.

What is Good: The biggest plus is that a different story is attempted here instead of a regular commercial entertainer. Solid performances by Shriram and Tanikella Bharani are the other plus points while Theertha puts in a good effort as the one who is used and shunned by the village as required. The metaphor of using a cremation ground undertaker who sees the village dying in front him morally and socially while his profession makes him depend on the physically dead for a living was interesting. The cinematography by Babu Jayanth captures the village in all its elements without making it look picture perfect. LB Sriram who plays Rudraswamy is also the story and the dialogue writer for Sontha Oooru

What is Bad : Where the movie fails is in keeping the interest alive across the length of the movie. The screenplay drags at places making you wonder why things aren’t moving forward. Given the seriousness of the theme, it would have been better to keep the movie short and crisp without trying to bring in too many sub-plots like Raja’s character as the innocent village lad which wasn’t required since it hardly made a difference. The jerky editing is another letdown along with another totally unimaginative “item” number.

Me Thinks : This is a movie with a straight message and is definitely not intended to entertain the masses or romanticize rural life. Watch it if you want to see something different from the usual boy-meets-girl and boy beats all the baddies for the girl story!!!

Tailpiece: A 3/5 rating for this though it might not really click with the masses!!!