Sridevi Soda CenteR
RATING
Introduction
After a monumental Saturday where I had a lot of fun watching and writing on Sooryavanshi as it welcomed me back to the theatre in style, I decided to end the weekend with some of the other new releases. And so I finished watching the new Telugu film Sridevi Soda Center on Zee5. Not knowing what to expect other than it being a romantic drama, here are my two cents on the film.
Story & Screenplay
Sridevi Soda Center follows the story of a guy from a lower caste falling in love with a girl from the upper caste. What follows is mayhem! The story might be relevant even today but there is no novelty factor in it. We have earlier seen the same story in films like Sairat which were so well written. The screenplay is what made the film a cult hit. Unfortunately, the screenplay is quite loose here and doesn’t quite hold your attention. While the first 20 minutes are an absolute borefest with the characters being introduced, the real love story begins post that. Although things get mildly better, there is really no connect in the love story too. Best are tgose love stories that form an emotional bond with the audience. Unfortunately, there are no such antics here. While some of the twists and turns are watchable but somehow they do not have a desired impact on you. The twist at the halfway mark is predictable but good and things look a lot better in the second hour. Also the shocking and bitter ending was something that left a small impact but I was expecting that last flourish which sadly did not come, thus making this screenplay an average affair at best. You needed some imaginative writing here to maintain a grip on the audience which wasn’t present.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues really needed to be more sharper and impactful. The music acts as a hindrance to the drama and not to mention adds crucial minutes to the runtime. The BGM is good but loud at places. Director Karuna Kumar misses the mark here. The direction needed to be tighter with a lot of soul. The shocking twist at the end needed to be brutal, something that would give you nightmares. Unfortunately, it lacked execution too which pretty much sums up the story here!
Performances
The performances are decent. The lack of a strong antagonist also affected the film big time. Anandhi as Sridevi looks pretty and does a fiery job and everytime she comes onscreen she does leave an impact. Hoping to watch more of her going forward. Sudheer Babu has a body to die for and does a decent job here but somehow his performance lacked soul. It should have really made an impact which his character doesn’t.
Conclusion
Sridevi Soda Center had a relevant subject at hand but its shoddy writing and weak execution just fails to leave an impact. It could have been a right concoction of commercial cinema and the politics behind caste but at the end of the day it is neither here nor there! Available on Zee5.