Movie Review: Savyasachi

  2.5/5

| Action | 2018-11-02

CAST

Naga Chaitanya, Madhavan, Nidhi Agerwal, Bhumika, Kausalya, Vennela Kishore, and others

Director - Chandu Mondeti
Producer - Naveen, Ravi Shankar, Mohan
Banner - Mythri Movie Makers
Music - MM Keeravani

Savyasachi looked intriguing right from the first poster released. Promos revealed that that film has an interesting and unexplored theme of 'vanishing twin syndrome'. Madhavan playing the antagonist and Chandu who delivered back to back hits raised expectations. Mythri Movie Makers bankrolling it is another reason to have confidence in the project. Did Savyasachi live up to the promise?

What is it about?

Vikramaditya alias Vikram (Chaitanya) has a unique issue within his body. His left hand has unusual powers because of 'vanishing twin syndrome'. Vikram who runs an ad agency survives a bus accident and leaves to US on a project. His happy life turns extremely sad and mysterious with the entry of an unknown villain (Madhavan). He kidnaps Vikram's niece and starts playing cat and mouse game with him. How Vikram traces the unnamed villain and saves his niece forms rest of the story.

Performances:

Naga Chaitanya who has shown tremendous ease in his recent films somehow looked dull and uninterested in Savyasachi. He is good in action scenes but clearly not at his best in romantic encounters with Niddhi. There is a reason why Madhavan agreed to play the antagonist. He is not a typical Telugu cinema villain. The unique character of the villain should have impressed Madhavan, but sadly it turns out to be an underdeveloped character by the end. There's a lot of potential to it and Madhavan does his best to make it work. However, poor writing has let him down in key sequences. Niddhi has good looks and is sure to impress the youth. However, she is a very bad actress who can't emote at all. Vennela Kishore as Chay's sidekick couldn't leave his mark. Bhumika appears in a brief role as Chay's sister.

Technicalities:

Chandu Mondeti who has made a taut thriller Kartikeya in his first attempt is totally out of form in dealing with this film. In spite of having interesting premise and characters, Chandu couldn't make it into an exciting film. The basic idea is good but there is not enough substance in the script. No wonder the actors were thrilled, but the director couldn't live up to the promise that it has shown on paper.

A couple of songs are alright on screen, but Keeravani's music is a dampener. Background score is good in parts, especially towards the end. Editing is pretty bad and we cannot blame the editor for this clumsy job. Director's aimless screenplay is the culprit. The cinematography is okay but definitely not up to the standards of a film that boasts of high production values.

Pros:

Vanishing twin syndrome concept

Madhavan

Cons:

Unbearable first half

Underdeveloped characters

Unnecessary commercial elements

Analysis:

Savyasachi has an exciting concept to start with. The concept of 'Vanishing twin syndrome' intrigues the viewers right away, but the director holds it back and gets into narrating the romance story of the protagonist. It is so interesting that you will need efforts to keep yourself awake from falling asleep. Before we heave a sigh of relief that it is over, the setup shifts to the US for the sake of rekindling the romance between the lead pair. There is an unending attempt to make these episodes entertaining by keeping the comedians engaged. However, the writing is so bad that you cannot even smirk at the jokes in spite of tickling oneself.

Things start to get interesting after the villain comes into the picture. The mystery surrounding him and the safety of the missing piece of the protagonist works as driving factors. But director Chandu is left clueless again. There's a powerful hero whose weapon-like left-hand makes him invincible. And there is a villain who is omnipresent yet invisible. There is so much potential to work around these characters. However, all Chandu does is make them play a few cat and mouse games before the story reaches the culmination point.

Chandu's direction goes from bad to worse when he tries to incorporate so-called commercial elements into this setting. The way he cuts into a flashback comedy scene and the remix song of Lagayatthu make us wonder if the director is truly in his senses or not. The screenplay is so bad that despite Madhavan's best efforts the villain looks like a clown and the interesting vanishing twin syndrome seems like a mere gimmick by the end. This film demands taut direction and gripping narration, but Savyasachi lacked that all through. There is nothing we could do except feeling pity for the actors whose efforts have gone wasted.

Savyasachi has the makings of a perfect contemporary action thriller, but hardly any thought has been put into the writing that it ends up as a mindless and silly action film with stupidity stamped all over. Chances are very bleak for this pointless film to stay afloat at the box office for a while.

Final Verdict: Good Idea In Bad Hands!



SOURCE: