Movie Review: Sing Geetham

Movie Review: Sing Geetham

Actors: Ahalya Bamru, Ayan, Shalini Kondepudi, Banerjee, Rahul Ravindran, Tulasi, Nivetha Pethuraj and others

Music: Devi Sri Prasad

Cinematography: Ankur

Producer: Nag Ashwin

Written by: Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, Gautami Challagulla, Shashank Chintalapudi, Nandakishore Emani, Rahul Rajeshwar, Ratna Sreekar

Director: Singeetham Srinivasa Rao

Known for his experimental films that clicked big time at the box office, legendary director Singeetham Sreenivasa Rao has done another experiment at the age of 94, and that is ‘Sing-Geetham’. Kalki fame director Nag Ashwin produced it. As the film hit cinemas today, let’s have a look at if it reached the expectations set by the Singeetham brand.

Story:

The village of Kuberapuram is exploited for its gold mines, and that leads to the destruction of all the flora and fauna, leaving it in a dilapidated state. One of the village’s residents, Pratap, along with others, chalks out a plan to loot the gold further. In that process, they want to pull down the last tree standing in the village. However, Gowri (Ahalya) considers the tree as her mother, curses the people in front of the god, and her words become a real curse for the village. In the first stage, people don’t speak words but sing them as songs. Then other strange things keep happening to that. So what happened to the village, the curse, and the people is the rest of the story.

Narration-Analysis:

Films like Pushpa Vimanam, Aditya 369, Vichitra Sodharlu, Bhairavadweepa are timeless classics created by Singeetham. Decades ago, the director created subjects and narratives that connect to people even today. At the age of 94, where he can’t even stand properly, Singeetham proved what a talented filmmaker like him could do if he had determination. Though he might not have done everything, surely the story, the storyboard and the presentation ideas belong to him only. One should wonder that he had created the idea of this film almost 40 years ago. While the past generation knows about his filmmaking brilliance, now it’s for the young generation to feel his creative vibe. While watching the film, we surely feel like no scene is lifted from some series or Hollywood film, no narrative is close to this, and it’s completely new and stunning. However, though the concept is good, while executing it, the narrative is a bit slow at times. After the central idea is revealed, the story keeps revolving around the same point, without moving forward. That’s a bit of a minus for Sing Geetham. At the same time, though the middle portions are boring, the second half has terrific surprises, freshness and feel.

The story drive is hinted at in the title itself, as they named it “Sing Geetham”. Through the promos, the central concept of a village getting cursed and all the people speaking like singing is revealed, and that’s unique on the screen too. However, whatever people sing is not regular songs, but only the words they want to say. This concept spreads laughs at the beginning, and later gives a message too, inside the film. The central concept of how human beings are exploiting nature and causing destruction through that, and the consequences of those actions, are shown in this futuristic film. Singeetham’s touch could be felt in creatively conveying this message. All the scenes are unique, and the first 40 minutes of the film are absolutely fresh. However, it feels redundant after some time. The audience loses excitement for that and asks for the next dose of freshness.

While the message in Sing Geetham is good, the narrative around it should have been strong. The flashback of how the village gets destroyed happens in a jiffy, without emphasising crucial details like destruction. And the present-day village setup lacks naturalness, giving us an artificial feel that never sinks in. The situations, scenes, people, setups everything feels artificial. But then, the twists in the second half are a major attraction. From pre-climax to the end of the film, the film’s tempo is stunning, and the last 30 minutes are the key to the film. The scenes that deal with the reformation of villagers are good. The cameo of a star hero that comes after the climax is funny. However, the film’s concept, narrative, and freshness changed this into a unique experience. To see how the experimentation of Singeetham looks, one should watch Singh Geetham. If Gen Z watches the film without putting it down as a movie crafted by a 94-year-old guy, they will be surprised.

Performances:

All the artists in Sing Geetham have done well by understanding the story. New girl Ahalya Bhumra’s expressions are good, as she brought natural feelers around her character. We feel like watching a variety-heroine like this variety story. Hero Ayan also did well, as she shows minute expressions quite well. Shalini Kondepudi is decent in a negative-shaded role. Rahul Ravindran and Nivetha Pethuraj’s guest appearance is attractive. Benerjee showcases his experience. Racha Ravi, Vamsi and other artists have all done well.

Technicalities:

While all the technical departments are on one side, Devi Sri Prasad is on the other side. In a film that has no words, but only the words as songs, he literally poured life into every frame. This film is one of the best works of his career. The songs and score drive the narrative engagingly forward. Cinematographer Ankur showcased good visuals. Art direction is also good but feels artificial at times. Production values are good. Singeetham and Team’s writing is new, and every scene is presented with versatility. But the lack of twists in the screenplay after a point is a bit of a minus. However, the interesting elements in the story will engage the audience.

Finally: Sing Geetham, Singeetham’s experiment

Rating: 3/5