Cast: Saptagiri, Rohini Prakash, Ali, Shakalaka Shankar, Posani Krishna Murali, Sayaji Shinde, Ajay Ghosh, Siva Prasad
Banner: Sai Celluloid Cinematic Creations
Music: Bulganin
Cinematography: C Ram Prasad
Editor: Goutham Raju
Screenplay: Saptagiri
Producer: Dr K Ravi Kirane
Director: Arun Pawar
Tagline: 'Saptagiri' Show...
Plot:
Saptagiri (Saptagiri) is a spoiled brat. His father (Siva Prasad) is a police constable. He dreams of making his son his superior police officer and salute him. However, Saptagiri never realizes his father’s dream and whiles away his time by indulging in movies, short films and plays. As fate takes its course, Saptagiri’s father gets killed in a fake encounter and Saptagiri is forced to take up his father’s job. Then Saptagiri learns that there is a mystery behind his father’s death and it happened because of involvement of some officers in the department (Posani, Ajay Ghosh). Then he embarks on an vengeful journey. This forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Performances:
Saptagiri: This is a one man show by Saptagiri. He is the nerve center of the film and effortlessly pulls off comedy and emotional sequences. He adds a new streak in the way he showcased certain emotions.
Shakalaka Shankar: He is the second hero of the film. He supports the hero and the episodes with his boss’ granny are adequate.
Siva Prasad: This veteran actor perfectly fits into the groove of hero’s father. Though his presence lasted for few scenes, but the emotional scenes between father and son create a lasting impact.
Posani, Ajay Ghosh: Posani plays another routine character. Of late, he has become monotonous in such roles. Audience may get bored soon with these type of acts. Same holds true for Ajay Ghosh.
Rohini Prakash: She is the heroine of the film and has no active role to play in the fim and remains as a caricature dancing on some tunes.
Analysis:Sapthagiri Express is a remake of the Tamil film Thirudan Police. When the story line is so wafer thin, couldn’t understand the rationale behind shelling a fortune for the remake rights and other aspects. In a simple tale of redemption what adds a zing is the hero not stepping into the shoes of a conventional star. He is a comedian and sticks to that. That’s evident in adding a comic tinge to the revenge episodes without breaking the smithereens. That’s the only sigh of relief. There aren’t any heavy duty episodes to elevate the heroism. Another good sign in the film. Saptagiri plays his usual self and is in his elements all through. Even the songs and fights bleed lot of comedy. The way Saptagiri portrays his penchant for acting and struggling to get a gold medal in a college event put you in splits. The high point of the film is Saptagiri’s monologue in front of his parents.
Father’s death and the subsequent scenes add the requisite emotional layering to the film. Just after Saptagiri took the job of a police there could have been more meaning added to the narrative. But, alas! It doesn’t happen so. There is zilch of novelty in the revenge drama and over indulgence in buffoonery derailed the film in the second half. There are glimpses of issues such as call money, chain snatching but the director couldn’t blend them perfectly into the narrative. On top of it, the poorly etched villain character spoils the show. Moreover, after a point the film becomes way too predictable and kills all the fun. The climax is a bit interesting with Saptagiri indulging in trickery rather than getting into a brawl to bring down the villain.
There is no problem in comedians graduating to heroes but they have to reach the expectations of the audience. When you enjoy a comedian’s performance, you expects more when he steps into the shoes of a hero. Many comedian tuned heroes fail to reach that expectation. However, Saptagiri plays it wisely in his act and brings the house down many a time.
Camera:
The technical crew has toiled a lot to bring in fine quality. There are no compromises there. Camera work is impressive. The songs are shot in foreign locales.
Music:
There’s a lot of beat in the songs and the intro number confuses you and you struggle to understand the lines that are a hotchpotch of Telugu and English. Though the film is the work of a debutante director, he manages the show carefully and hits the middle road of building heroism and hyperbolic action. He sticks to the commercial template and steers within that.
Music:
There’s a lot of beat in the songs and the intro number confuses you and you struggle to understand the lines that are a hotchpotch of Telugu and English. Though the film is the work of a debutante director, he manages the show carefully and hits the middle road of building heroism and hyperbolic action. He sticks to the commercial template and steers within that.
Verdict: ‘Just for laughs’ in a one man show by Saptagiri.
ALSO SEE :
Qlik Here To Rate Sapthagiri Express
