Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is a 2024 action drama film written and directed by Vivek Athreya. The film has Nani, SJ.Suryah & Priyanka Mohan playing the lead roles while Abhirami, Aditi Balan, P. Sai Kumar, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Ajay, Murali Sharma, Ajay Ghosh, Supreeth, Harsha Vardhan, Sivaji Raja, Vishnu Oi, Harsh Roshan & others are seen in important supporting roles. The music is composed by Jakes Bejoy while the film is produced by D. V. V. Danayya & Kalyan Dasari under DVV Entertainment banner.
Story:
The film is about a normal middle-class guy named Surya (Nani) who works as an LIC agent. Surya has anger issues since childhood and keeps fighting with everyone. Seeing this, his mother suggests a solution to fight only on Saturdays, to which Surya agrees. One day he locks horns with corrupt Inspector R. Dayanand (SJ.Suryah), who brutally attacks innocent people for petty reasons. Why does Surya take on Daya? What is the reason behind it? Did he succeed in his mission? Needs to be seen in the film.
What about on-screen performances?
Nani is terrific in the lead role as Surya. His role has dual shades and he shines in both of them. It is a cakewalk for him to play the guy who suppresses his anger and be a guy next door while as a guy with anger issues, he unleashes the beast in him in a massy way and gives a standout performance.
SJ Suryah is the biggest highlight of the film. He is excellent as the ruthless cop Daya and impresses big time with his trademark mannerisms, funny comedy timing, and unique dialogue delivery. In fact he does outshine Nani in a few scenes and steals the show.
Priyanka Mohan is so adorable in her role as the hero’s love interest. She delivers a neat performance and her chemistry with Nani is decent.
Sai Kumar does well as the hero’s father while Abhirami leaves a decent mark as the mother in the flashback portions.
Murali Sharma who plays the politician and Harshavardhan as SJ Suryah’s side kick are good in their respective roles.
Aditi Balan, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Ajay, Ajay Ghosh, Supreeth, Sivaji Raja, Vishnu Oi, Harsh Roshan & others are neat in their limited supporting roles.
What about off-screen talents?
The story by Vivek Athreya has an interesting core point of fighting only on Saturdays and this point though dealt with in a bit routine manner in the first half, is very neatly rounded off in the latter half. Had the reasoning for Nani & SJ. Suryah’s violent behavior has been discussed more elaborately, then the core point would have had more meaningful value in the script. In fact, Nani’s characterization has no proper traits other than having anger issues and fighting on Saturdays.
The screenplay by Vivek Athreya is good in parts and is dragged in a few others. The round-off to the subplots are neatly done but there are a few half-baked scenes here and there as well.
The first half sets up the core narrative and is majorly dedicated to introducing all the characters, their dynamics, and the conflicts which is quite flat and routine without any high moments. It is the scene where Surya & Daya meet for the first time and things start to get interesting. The whole pre-interval & interval sequences are superb.
The second half is the best part of the film, although the middle portions tend to lag a bit. The world of Sokulapalem isn’t presented in an effective manner but the emotions related to the people there work well. All the points in the first half are perfectly rounded off in this half and the action mood along with the tense moments are effective. The climax portions are good but should have been crisper.
Director Vivek Athreya does a neat job with his presentation but his narrative had a few shortcomings. The plot had the scope to elevate a few scenes to another level with mass elements but he misses the opportunity to do so coz of his inexperience with the genre as this is the first time he is trying an action film. Had the pacing been a bit more crisper, the overall result would have been even better.
Jakes Bejoy is the behind-the-camera superstar of the film. His thumping background score is one of the biggest highlights of the film. Also, his songs are good and gell with the narrative.
The cinematography by Murali G. is first-rate. All the action scenes are shot well and the lighting is on point.
The edit by Karthika Srinivas is not up to the mark. The film needed a shorter cut with a crisper second half.
The production values by DVV Entertainment are grand.
What’s Hot?
* SJ.Suryah’s Performance
* Nani’s Performance
* Priyanka Mohan’s Performance
* All Scenes Between Nani & SJ.Suryah
* Kickass Background Score
* Interval Part & Engaging Second Half
* Cinematography & Production Values
What’s Not?
* Missed Opportunity To Elevate A Few Scenes
* Unnecessarily Lengthy
* Sluggish First 30 Mins
* Flat Middle Portions
* Routine Execution Of Core Point
Verdict: On the whole, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is a watchable action entertainer in typical Vivek Athreya style with a bit of lag. This time he neatly blends in action and emotion along with sweet romance and clean comedy which are already his major strengths. With some superb performances from SJ. Suryah & Nani, this film is a fair watch on the big screens.
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.75/5