K Vishwanath is one of the legends of the Telegu film industry who has directed many masterpieces such as Shankarabharanam, SagaraSangamam, SwathiMuthyam, etc. His name inspired respect for having stood his ground despite the stereotypical masala films prevailing in the eighties. He carved out his own niche by making movies that appealed to everyone thanks to their strong scripts that were marked by excellent performances and music. It is with this expectation that ones walks in to see a K Vishwanath movie!

What’s It About: The film starts with Chakri ( Naresh) landing up in Kerala to help his uncle’s catering business. There, he bumps into a telegu girl, Indu (Manjari), who falls for his charms despite his penniless nature. Her family objects to the match, but Chakri manages to convince them that he is well-settled in life and gets married to Indu. Only when he takes her back to his village does she realize that he is a porter who carries people uphill in a palki to a popular temple. Despite this lie, Indu still supports Chakri and is happy living a simple life. She also ends up helping the fatherly Sivananda (Sharathbabu), a stranger with a tragic past, despite Chakri not liking it. Later, they realize that Sivananda is millionaire who wants to adopt the couple. The rest of the story is about why Indu is so important to Sivananda & how it ends up as a SubhaPradam!

What is Good: The strongest point of the film is the sincere performances by Manjari & Naresh. Manjari’s character is the focal point of the film and she gives it her best shot with her character of a good-hearted samaritan. Naresh is natural with plenty of funny one-liners. Veteran Sharathbabu lightens up the screen with his presence. Mani Sharma comes up with a diverse music score that is pleasant on the ears with some meaningful lyrics which is a trait of a Vishwanath movie. As expected, the movie is devoid of vulgarity or violence.

What is bad: The story about good people helping everyone seemed quite jaded. An overdrawn flashback explaining Sivananda’s tragic past which stretches for a good 20 mins in the second half proves to be a drag in the already slow-pace of the movie. The technical aspects such as editing, cinematography, and art-direction seemed quite outdated in these times. At times, you get a feeling that you watching a play than a movie.

Me Thinks: Overall, the movie will appeal to an older generation who will probably be able to appreciate this film thanks to their experience to previous Vishwanath movies. Given the lack of “drama”, it might not really click with all.

Tailpiece: It’s a different experience watching a film that does not boast or need foreign locales, item numbers, elaborate fight sequences, stylish actors, etc. You wish that there were more such films !!!