Sundarakanda Movie Review

Nara Rohith after a long break came back to the silver screen with Prathinidhi and Bhairavam. While the first one turned out to be a disappointing outing, the latter gave him some relief as his intense performance received accolades. Now, he is back in his strong zone with a rom-com entertainer Sundarakanda. Let’s see if this gives him the much-needed break and comeback.

Setup:

Siddharth (Nara Rohith) is a middle-aged, go-lucky guy who is in a long search for his ideal girl to marry, someone who matches his 5-quality checklist inspired by his childhood crush Vyshnavi (Sridevi Vijaykumar), his school senior. He then meets a college girl, Eira (Virti Vaghani), at an airport and instantly falls for her, following her around to see if she meets his checklist. Does she tick all the boxes Siddharth dreams of? How will the age difference affect their relationship? Will Vyshnavi come back into his life? All this forms the rest of the story.

Technicalities:

Pradeesh Varma’s cinematography is decent, giving the visuals a very contemporary and polished vibe. Editing by Rohan Chillale is okayish, a few parts in the 2nd half could have been trimmed to ensure better flow. Music by Leon James is just passable. The movie lacked the chartbuster songs this genre usually thrives on. The BGM is fine but sounds typical of Leon James, reminding us of his earlier works like Gundellona. The new producers Santosh, Rakesh, and Gautam went all in, providing everything needed to make the production values look rich and neat on screen. Production design and costumes are adequate and complement the visuals. Debutant director Venkatesh Nimmalapudi chose a decent script with an unconventional twist. He carried most of the second half banking on that twist and its consequences. Though the movie is clean and has fun moments, the story turns predictable except for the twist.

Performances:

Nara Rohith, after his intense role in Bhairavam, is back in his comfort zone. He slips easily into the boy-next-door role, looking stylish and handling the romantic side with ease. His comedy timing with Satya and emotional scenes performance are on point. Sridevi Vijaykumar makes a decent comeback. She plays two different age phases, and while she does well, her portrayal of the younger version feels unconvincing looks-wise. Virti Vaghani as Eira is a perfect fit, bubbly, charming, and effective in emotional moments too. Satya as Rohit’s friend is the show-stealer. His role as friend and a college professor travels throughout the film, generating consistent laughs. Sunaina as his wife does equally well. Vasuki Anand as Rohit’s sister had an energetic role and she did it with ease. Other supporting actors like Naresh, Roopa Lakshmi, Abhinav Gomatam, and VTV Ganesh were okay but underutilized. A few more comedy-driven scenes from them would have helped.

Positives:

Nara Rohith and Virti’s performances
Clean treatment
Satya’s fun moments
Unconventional twist

Negatives:

Predictable plot
Flat narration
Lack of chartbuster songs
Underused characters

Analysis:

At present, Telugu audiences are craving clean, soft-hearted films without bloodshed or complicated storytelling. The makers of Sundarakanda aimed to deliver that, and to some extent, succeeded. The film is refreshingly clean, not even a smoking scene, which is rare these days. Director Venkatesh picked a predictable storyline with an unusual, debatable twist. He handled it with some sensibility, but the film needed more fun elements and at least one or two chartbuster songs to elevate the theatre experience. While the lead performances are good, they do not stand out as extraordinary. Even the much-talked-about twist does not shock, it just feels unusual.

That said, the film has some genuinely fun moments and clean narration. Thanks to Satya and Rohit’s chemistry, the first half breezes by pleasantly. Though the second half dips into melodrama, it ends on an emotionally satisfying note.

Overall, despite its flaws, Sundarakanda works as a clean and light-hearted family entertainer, the kind you do not often see these days. It might not surprise with its story or songs, but it has enough fun and moments to make for a decent watch this festive season.

Bottomline: A Clean and Breezy Rom-Com

Rating: 2.5/5