Sundarakanda - 2008 Reviews

Cast: Naresh, Charmme, Suneel Sharma, Prema, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Ranganath, Rallapalli, Vizag Prasad, Duvvasi Mohan, L.B.Sriram, Goutham Raju, Khadgam Prithvi, Kondavalasa, Lakshmipathi and Others
Director:Bapu
Producer:K.Aparna
Music:Vidya Sagar
Screenplay And Dialogues:Mullapudi Venkata Ramana
Cinematography:P.R.K.Raju
Co-producer:Thummala Bhanuprakash Reddy
Presenter:Petrofab International FZC (UAE)
Banner:Chaitra Film Circuit
Release Date:8th February, 2008


Bapu's work has a trademark all of it's own. Unfortunately, that's not enough to capture and retain viewer interest in the movie. Sundarakanda is not amongst his better movies, to put it mildly. It's an old theme-girl uniting her parents, an outdated characters profile-zamindars and rajas, party meetings in a modified cow shed, etc., and very old treatment. The music which was a plus has not been used all that well, the direction suffers with the weak backbone of a shoddy script and the movie has only a few moments that form the tiny silver lining of a really dark cloud. A disappointment from Bapu.

Plot:
Pinky is a bubbly, mischievous girl who lives with her mother and they both work for a marriage organizing party. Pinky doesn't know who her father is, and when she discovers the truth, she leaves home to get closer to him and unite her parents. He is a Zamindar's son, by name Ram Gopal Varma, who marries Sita after he meets and falls in love with her at a picnic. With familial disapproval, Sita leaves his house and lives on her own with her daughter Pinky. Now he is on his way to get a party ticket to become the Chief Minister, and Pinky's identity may tarnish his image. So Pinky gets into the house and works her magic to kill two birds with one stone.

Story, Screenplay and Direction:
A couple of movies came and went with this theme. So anyways, we have Lord Rama and Sita estranged from each other for a long period of time. 'Toka Leni Monkey Pinky' is Hanuman. And we have Sundarakanda. The idea of taking any chapter from the Ramayana or Mahabharata is good. But the execution here is not up to the mark.

The introduction scene of Kota, a couple of scenes with his cronies especially the one where they all try to bribe Pinky generates some laughter. Good photography, bad editing. Two scenes with Charmme and Varma's family, and the humorous conflict or sentimentality is good. The last scene is as silly as it gets. Those little moments Bapu is famous for are few and far between. Notably when Varma asks his daughter if she has any siblings (equate it to the original Sundarakanda and Sita's ordeal) and towards the end when he announces his shortcomings in a public function.

The whole zamindari set-up doesn't go down well for obvious reasons. Even as a work of fiction, the logical loopholes are too many.

Performances:
Charmme becomes the typical Bapu leading lady and does a decent job in a silly script. She hams quite a lot though. Naresh has hardly any part to play. Prema as Charmme's young mother is good. Suneel Sharma as her father doesn't suit the role, the dubbing by S.P.Balu doesn't suit his persona and his fake moustache is not convincing. Kota does a good job playing a flat character.

Song and Dance:
The music is good, but not used to the optimum.

Last Word:
From someone who gave us a new style of direction, straight from his caricatures, this comes as a blooper. Its way too outdated and the script itself doesn't grip the attention span, even for those who like cinema such as Bapu makes. It's not about the style or genre, it's just a weak script from the word go