Sridevi Soda Center is an intense love story with lots of action which is directed by Karuna Kumar of ‘Palasa 1978’ fame. The film has Sudheer Babu and Anandhi in the lead roles along with Pavel Navageethan, Naresh, Satyam Rajesh, Ajay, Sapthagiri, Rohini, Harshavardhan, Kalyani Raju, and many others in supporting roles.
Story:
Sooribabu (Sudheer Babu) is a local electrician who falls in love with Sridevi (Anandi) who owns a Goli soda shop in the village. But Sridevi’s father (Naresh) doesn’t agree for their marriage because Sooribabu comes from a lower caste and is also involved in a murder case. How will Sooribabu solve all his problems? Will he marry Sridevi? Needs to be watched on big screens.
What about on-screen performances?
Sudheer Babu comes up with an all-round performance. He has a good scope to showcase all his skills and he passes with flying colors in this film. He is especially good in all the action sequences and also does well in the emotional scenes towards the end. This is surely one of his career-best performances.
Anandhi looks cute and has come up with an effective performance as Sridevi. She shines in the romantic portions and is superb in all her emotional scenes with Naresh, especially in the pre-climax episode.
Naresh who plays the Heroine’s father, once again proves that he is a versatile actor as he steals the show towards the end with his brilliant portrayal.
Pavel Navageethan who played the main villain suited to the role and does well in all his scenes.
Satyam Rajesh is pretty decent in his supporting role as the hero’s friend while Raghu Babu leaves a mark as the hero’s father in the first half.
Ajay and Saptagiri are limited to very short roles which doesn’t have much to do with the story.
The rest of the cast including Rohini, Harshavardhan, Kalyani Raju, Prawin, Satyaprasad, and others are fine in their respective supporting roles.
What about off-screen talents?
Director Karuna Kumar of ‘Palasa 1978’ fame comes up with yet another rustic village drama, this time with caste issues playing a vital role in the plot. The way he presented the village atmosphere and the exhibition set up in the first half is very good. Since the film also has an honor killing theme, a few scenes related to this topic should have been showcased at the beginning itself to make the climax even more effective.
The story by Nagendra Kasi doesn’t offer anything new and the screenplay too is very predictable in major portions of the film.
Mani Sharma’s background score is the biggest highlight of the film. He just takes the film to another level in all the important scenes in the film. ‘Mandhuloda’ is the best song of the album while ‘Naalo Innalluga’ is a good melody.
The cinematography by Shamdat Sainudeen is extraordinary. The way he captures the boat racing episode and the natural greenery of Amalapuram is very good on screen.
The editing by A. Sreekar Prasad is fine as he keeps the runtime in check without much lag.
Special mention to the production design by S. Rama Krishna and Monika Niggotre. Very authentic indeed.
What’s Hot?
* Sudheer Babu’s Performance
* Anandhi’s Performance
* Naresh’s Performance
* Background Score
* Love Track & Lead Pair Chemistry
* Boat Race Scene
* Pre-Climax & Climax Portions
What’s Not?
* Routine Plot
* Predictable Screenplay
* Songs In Second Half
* Unengaging Middle Portions
Verdict: Sridevi Soda Center is a very predictable love story with an honor-killing backdrop. With strong pre-climax and climax episodes, this film ends up being a decent one-time watch.
TeluguBulletin.com Rating:2.5/5