What’s it about?
Mythili (Roopa Koduvayur), a manager at an automobile showroom, falls in love with her colleague Sarangapani (Priyadarshi), a salesman. The two get engaged in no time. However, just as their wedding date approaches, Sarangapani — a staunch believer in astrology — has a chance encounter with a palmist named Jigeswar (Avasarala), who warns him that his horoscope predicts he might end up committing a murder.
Shaken by this revelation, Sarangapani postpones the wedding and, with the help of his friend Chandu (Vennela Kishore), devises a bizarre plan: to find someone who’s already on the brink of death and stage it as a murder, hoping to neutralize the curse in his horoscope.
Will his unusual plan work? And more importantly, will he be able to marry Mythili after all?
Analysis
“Sarangapani Jathakam” falls squarely within director Indraganti Mohana Krishna’s zone, from the protagonist’s quirky name to the humor drawn from rhyming dialogues. The plot is fairly routine, reminiscent of 1980s and ’90s films by directors like Vamsi (‘April 1 Vidudala’ and its murder twist) and EVV Satyanarayana (‘Aa Okkati Adakku’), where the protagonist believes he must perform a certain act for good fortune, only to realize later that it was all a setup.
Taking this simple idea, Indraganti crafts a protagonist obsessed with palmistry and horoscopes—character traits that suit Priyadarshi’s persona well.
As mentioned above, the plot is thin, and the entire first half barely clicks. The supposedly hilarious episodes where the hero tries to murder two different people end up more like Kamal Haasan’s failed attempts in Madana Kama Raju— provide mixed feelings.
It’s only in the latter part of the film that the humor starts to click. The arrival of Harsha, initially a ‘cameo’ actor who ends up taking center stage, and the extended sequence set in a five-star hotel in Vizag, provide some genuinely funny moments.
Priyadarshi, Vennela Kishore, and Harsha give it their all to make things work, but even these sequences tend to drag. Sharper writing and tighter editing would’ve made this stretch more effective. Still, as far as the humor goes, this portion works better than the rest.
That said, some sequences—like the girl talking about “Alpha Males” or the scenes involving the parents of Priyadarshi and Roopa Koduvayur arriving in Vizag—don’t quite fit into the narrative. Fortunately, the climax brings the story back on track.
Priyadarshi in the lead, and Vennela Kishore and Harsha as his buddies carry the film and deliver the laughs. Harsha and Kishore, in particular, shine in the second half. Typically, Indraganti writes strong female characters, but here Roopa Koduvayur is given limited scope. She, however, performs her part neatly.
There isn’t much to say about the other actors or the technical departments.
Bottom line: “Sarangapani Jathakam,” despite lacking a strong plot, makes up for it with a few genuinely humorous episodes. The second half delivers laughs, largely due to the comic timing of Priyadarshi, Vennela Kishore, and Harsha. However, the film tends to overstretch, loses pace at times and many portions lack contemporary vibe.
Rating: 2.75/5
By Jalapathy Gudelli
Movie: Sarangapani Jathakam
Cast: Priyadarshi, Roopa Koduvayur, Vennela Kishore, Viva Harsha, , Avasarala Srinivas, Raja Chembolu, Vadlamani Srinivas, Pradeep Rudra and others
Music: Vivek Sagar
DOP: PG Vinda
Editor: Marthand K Venkatesh
Production Designer: Raveendar
Producer: Sivalenka Krishna Prasad
Written and directed by: Mohanakrishna Indraganti
Release Date: April 24, 2025
