Not very Alluring

The last time Trivikram Srinivas and Allu Arjun came together, ‘Julayi’ was what we got. That was one fun. And when the duo announced that they were collaborating again, we expected something more entertaining and even more delightful. Not denying that ‘S/o Satyamurthy’ has something interesting to offer but it trails off into a journey of ‘viluvalu’ (values) that it so desperately wants to preach and ends up becoming a confused blend of values (that don’t quite reach us), emotions (too many of them) and a plodding storyline.

Viraj Anand (Allu Arjun) has just lost his father Satyamurthy (Prakash Raj). His love for his father is immense and he will do anything to ensure his name remains clean. Well, the whole film is about the journey that goes into doing so.It’s in this journey that he meets other characters essayed by Rajendra Prasad, Samantha, Adah Sharma, Rao Ramesh, MS Narayana, Upendra, Sneha et al.However, the ride to ensuring his father’s reputation isn’t a cakewalk.

He has to go the typical Telugu hero way – bring in a comedian into the proceedings, an extra heroine to add some glamour and to bring in a twist in the tale– and ensure the values daddy gave him are on display.Unlike ‘Attarintiki Daaredi’ where most of the ensemble cast was just a backdrop to the storyline; this film sees each one provide something to the otherwise wafer thin storyline.

However, in an attempt to give everyone’s character a dimension, Trivikram makes some characters into caricatures – Sneha and Nithya Menen are the examples. They are there but knowing their full potential, we wish they had more to do.This could possibly be Allu Arjun’s best performance yet. But he’s lost in the mélange of confusion. Thankfully, none of the actresses play damsels in distress even though Arjun does come as their knight in shining armour many a time. Samantha does her best as usual, Adah looks gorgeous and Nithya is below her potential.

Rajendra Prasad’s character with a few shades of grey is convincing. Upendra’s comeback to Telugu cinema is interesting and we’d like to see more of him. Sneha is wasted. Prakash Raj is barely there.Trivikram Srinivas is a genius. He has the rare ability to distil dialogues and bring out their true essence. As many say, he is a magician when it comes to his skills with the pen. But ‘S/o Satyamurthy’ makes us wonder if the enchantment is slowly vanishing (though we don’t want to). There’s no punch in most dialogues except for an occasional high moment.

No denying that there are moments of crazy laughter, witty remarks and some thought provoking words, but Trivikram’s benchmark is set so high that the writing of this film doesn’t excite us enough.All said and done, if you are a lover of a Telugu cinema who enjoys watching the hero being the Good Samaritan and fancy a few tear-jerking moments, this film is definitely for you!

Movie Name : S/o Satyamurthy

Cast : Allu Arjun, Samantha, Sneha, Rajendra Prasad and Upendra

Direction : Trivikram Srinivas

Genre : Drama

Likes : Allu Arjun, cinematography

Dislikes : Storyline, screenplay

By Pranita Jonnalagedda