What’s it about?
Karthik (Sharwamand) works as a software professional in Hyderabad with good pay and position in the firm. He hails from a village near Tirupati. Farming has traditionally been the source of income for his village dwellers but over the years agriculture became untenable forcing the migration.
Seeing the plight of his villagers’ condition, Karthik decides to quit his job and take up farming much to his father’s chagrin (Rao Ramesh). He has new ideas to make farming a viable option.
Analysis
In Mahesh Babu starrer ‘Maharshi’, a corporate company CEO leaves his high-paying job for farming, and the film talked about the concept of ‘weekend farming. The protagonist in ‘Maharshi’ realizes the importance of agriculture after seeing the miserable condition of his friend. The villain was the powerful land-grabbing corporate companies and politicians.
In ‘Sreekaram’, which is released today, Sharwanand quits the job when he sees the distress of his villagers, who are migrating to the cities for menial work. His father, who only saw piles of debt from years of farming, opposes his idea, creating a wedge between them. But here the villain is a local villager, who lends money to the farmers. ‘Sreekaram’ talks about ‘community farming’.
This is not to say that ‘Sreekaram’ and ‘Maharshi’ are the same. They are poles apart. But both films have highlighted the agrarian crisis, the migration, and the farmer’s debts. They have also come up with cinematic solutions.
To boost the village economy, community farming and the new-age marketing of the agriculture produce is the best solution is what the writer-director Kishore thinks and he presents these ideas in ‘Sreekaram’.
But the director has shown his limitations in narrating this drama. While he has handled the emotional bond between father and son quite well, his narration and writing are too regular to applaud.
There is a dialogue in the film – “Nuvvu Inka Rajanala Kaalam Aatalu Adutunnavu Ra”. This dialogue is apt in describing certain scenes we see in the film. Especially, the romantic track between Sharwanand and Priyanka reeks of mediocrity.
Coming to performances, Sharwanand has played his role convincingly. Priyanka Mohan’s character is irritating, to say the least. Rao Ramesh as Sharwa’s father is brilliant as always. The scenes between them are the major highlight. Aamani as a mother is okay. Sai Kumar’s villain role is a major minus.
Among the technicians, cinematographer Yuvraj and music director Mickey J Meyer impress with their output.
Bottom-line: ‘Sreekaram’ is a film that talks about the importance of community farming. It has a noble intention and right emotional core. But the narration is not engaging enough. Predictability is its major drawback.
By: Jalapathy Gudelli
Rating: 2.5/5
Film: Sreekaram
Cast: Sharwanand, Priyanka Arul Mohan, Rao Ramesh
Music: Mickey J Meyer
Director of Photography: Yuvaraj
Editor: Marthand Venkatesh
Art: Avinash Kolla
Producer: Ram Achanta, Gopi Achanta
Written and directed by Kishore B
Release Date: March 11, 2021
This post was last modified on March 11, 2021 10:37 pm