Movie Name: Saripodhaa Sanivaaram
Rating: 3/5
Cast: Nani, Priyanka Mohan, SJ Surya, Aditi Balan, Sai Kumar, Murali Sharma
Director: Vivek Athreya
Produced By: D.V.V. Danayya
Release Date: August 29th, 2024
Fans and film lovers have been highly curious about this project ever since the title was announced as ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’. Furthermore, the casting and subsequent promotional materials were all quite interesting and evoked great buzz. However, the biggest question was whether Nani and Vivek Athreya would be able to deliver the smash hit that they had promised through Ante Sundaraniki 2 years ago. Let’s find out the same.
Story:
Nani as Surya is a quintessential common man who works as an LIC agent. His childhood was marred with brawls due to his anger issues and inability to stay silent over injustice. To control this, Surya’s mother makes him promise to vent out his anger only on one day- Saturday. C.I. Daya (SJ Suryah) an eccentric, cruel, and hyper-violent police officer tests this restraint of Surya through his atrocities against the people of Sokulapalem. How Surya along with Charu (Priyanka Mohan) fights this injustice is what the movie follows.
Nani breathes life into the character of Surya. His character variations and timing are as solid as ever and create great interest in the movie. While the role is not as complex as his previous movies, Surya needs some nuanced maturity which Nani brings with great ease. SJ Suryah is on a roll and is a great asset to the film. Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is another feather to his cap and his performance is on par with his recent works like Mark Antony, Jigarthanda, and Raayan in Tamil. Priyanka Mohan, Sai Kumar, and Murali Sharma do a decent job and provide strong support to the story.
Analysis:
Saripodhaa Sanivaaram starts off on a strong note with Nani’s character introduction and title justification being shown well. The scene where Surya promises his mother to not get into any further brawls is quite convincing and manages to establish further proceedings strongly. The love track, however, is quite distracting and slows down the pace of a well-established first half. Some other filler scenes and a dull screenplay in the first half further impact the momentum. The interval face-off block between Surya and Daya has been shot extremely well and resues the first half from being a complete letdown. The second half of Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is a notch better and some scenes aside, provides plenty of action and entertainment setting the stage for a grand climax. Despite some slowness in both halves, Vivek Athreya quickly recaptures audience interest with his trademark screenplay, humour, and ability to entertain.
Positives:
- Nani and SJ Suryah
- Music
- Nani and SJ Suryah face-off scenes
- Intro, interval, and climax episodes
- Few entertaining portions
Negatives:
- Love track
- Emotional scenes
- Lengthy and predictable scenes
- Weak writing
Verdict:
Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is a decent commercial film with an extremely unique approach and treatment. Nani and SJ Suryah are the film’s two pillars and their extraordinary performance holds the film steady. The faceoff scenes between the duo are the film’s major highlight. While the individual performances are great for nearly everyone, the lack of a strong connection between Surya and Sokulapalem, and the love track takes away some momentum. The action scenes are quite uniquely choreographed and if you’re a lover of commercial cinema with a heavy dose of action, you’ll love Saripodhaa Sanivaaram.
