'Sapta Sagaraalu Dhaati (Side B)' Movie Review
Cast: Rakshit Shetty, Rukmini Vasanth, Chaithra J Achar, Achyuth Kumar, Pavitra Lokesh, Avinash, Sharath Lohithaswa, Ramesh Indira, Gopal Krishna Deshpande, Ashok Sharma and others.
Music: Charan Raj
Cinematography: Advaitha Gurumuthry
Producer: Rakshit Shetty – TG Vishwa Prasad (Telugu)
Writer - Director: Hemanth M Rao
Kannada hero Rakshit Shetty has been on a roll lately. He is coming up with high-quality films both in terms of content as well as technical quality. His 'Sapta Sagaralu Dhaati – Side A' was released in September and garnered a very good response. After leaving an open ending, the team readied the 'Side B' within no time. There are good expectations on 'Sapta Sagaralu Dhaati – Side B' and it has been released in theatres with not many delays. Let us dive into the review to find out more about this.
Story:
The first part came to an end with Manu (Rakshit Shetty) ending up in jail after making one bad decision. His lover Priya (Rukmini Vasanth) moved on in life and got married. The second part shows Manu getting released from jail after ten years with a lot of emotional baggage. He decides to deal with the demons of his past and set Priya's life once again. He meets Surabhi (Chaithra J Achar) and things take an interesting turn. Is Manu completely over Priya? Will he take another path in life? What does he do now? The answers to these questions will form the rest of the story.
Analysis:
The Kannada film industry has been delivering quality content over the past few years. The Telugu audience are slowly getting fond of Sandalwood films and 'KGF', 'Kantara', 'Charlie 777' are prime examples. Rakshit Shetty is quite familiar to the Telugu audience is giving one good film after another. His 'Sapta Sagaralu Dhaati – Side A' was a huge success in Karnataka and it did decently well in Telugu states. With the film arriving quite early on a streaming network, a lot more people watched the movie and the cliffhanger made people wait for the second part. To their credit, the makers did not make the audience wait for a long time to see the 'Side B' of this emotional film.
Love stories with a melancholic touch and a lot of emotional moments always strike the chord with younger set of audiences. Many Mani Ratnam films, 'Sita Ramam' and Vijay Sethupathi's '96' are some films that fall into this category. 'Sapta Sagaralu Dhaati' too ticks all those boxes but it has more drama and sadness attached to it. The first part has a lot of sweet moments but one gets an idea on how the 'Side B' is going to progress by looking at the end portions. The trailers confirmed it and people who expected to see a soft love story may not get that this time. The second part is more about what the hero does to better the life of the female lead and getting to know if he finds love again.
The characters are wonderfully written and the director made sure that there are a few light-hearted moments in this otherwise melodramatic tale. The entire story runs on a single point of hero trying to correct Manu's life and this leads to a lot of dragging moments in places. Also, the director goes into a lot of detailing which slows down the pace drastically. The entire first half is taken for character establishment and providing context for many threads which makes one think that the movie is not going forward. But the director makes sure that he extracted good performances from the actors who overshadowed a lot of the film's flaws.
The revenge storyline makes things a bit interesting and the second half is definitely better compared to the first half. The emotional moments work superbly during the latter parts of the movie and there are some scenes that gives you a high feeling. Chaitra character definitely brings a lot of freshness into this movie and the way the film ends showcases the skill of the director. Barring the slow narration and a few predictable scenes, the movie offers what's expected of it. The emotions are quite high and the dramatic moments work out well in major parts. On the whole, the movie will be loved by those who liked the first part in spite of the notable flaws.
Performances:
Rakshit Shetty is a very good actor and he showcased brilliant emotions once again. He carried the film on his shoulders and his subtle variations were quite great to witness. The actor puts on a restrained performance and he makes you emotional at many places. His appearance too suited the role and his performance will be remembered for a long time.
Rukmini Vasanth had a more serious role this time compared to 'Side A'. The actress looks great onscreen and does equally well in many scenes. She is one of the biggest plus points of the movie. Her portrayal of a reserved woman character is brilliant. Chaitra delivered a superb performance. Her role is in complete contrast to Rukmini's role. She complimented Rakshit Shetty quite well in many scenes. She is a very good addition to this movie. Gopal Krishna Deshpande did extremely well as a supportive friend who provides comic relief at places. The rest of the actors did a very good job too.
Technicians:
'Sapta Sagaralu Dhaati – Side B' is a technically rich film. The production values are superb and editing is decent too though some scenes were a bit extended than required. The music by Charan Raj is the backbone of the movie. His background scores often melts your heart. The way he turned songs from the first part and used it in the second part needs to be appreciated. He excelled in his craft. The visuals by Advaitha Gurumurthy speak a lot. A lot of emotions are conveyed through the visuals, lighting and tone. He contributed a lot to the film through his camerawork. It is quite commendable.
Coming to director Hemanth, he did an amazing job as a writer. He penned well-rounded characters and the way he extracted emotions out of the actors should also be appreciated. The visual treatment is fantastic and he delivered a good product. Had he taken more care regarding the film's pace and took care of a couple of predictable scenes, the movie would have been even better.
Verdict: Sapta Sagaralu Dhaati – Side B – Slow Emotional Drama!
Rating: 2.5/5
Disclaimer: This Review is Just An Opinion of One Person. Please Do Not Judge The Movie Based On This Review And Watch Movie in Theater