Seethamma Andalu Ramayya Sitralu Review

Ten or fifteen years down the line, are we going to see a Telugu film in which an alien lands on the planet, loses his academic certificates, and in the process of acquiring qualifications here, starts questioning the education system after joining a college?  Yes, probably!  If Lagaan or Kabaddi Kabaddi can be remixed like hell, why can't PK be rehashed like crazy?  Sitamma Andalu Ramayya Sitralu tells one such story that doesn't even qualify to be called a cross-bred species.  That would be like dignifying it.

Sriram (Raj Tarun) is a good-for-nothing youngster who wiles away his time with equally good-for-nothing friends.  Like all such Telugu heroes, he believes his friends are far worse than him.  Ever since he was a school-going kid, his only ambition has been to marry Sita (debutante Arthana).  In a 'tuniga.. tuniga..' twist (to be fair to the director, he refers to that song!), Sita and family shift to a town, leaving Sriram with the only option of waiting for her visit during summers, year after year.  One fine day, our hero agrees to implement an idea of one of his friends (played by Shakalaka Shankar): to make Sita step over a banana peel and make her slip forward and forward until the hero romantically catches her.  A never-seen-before idea!  Right?  And our hero agrees to this, never mind the fact that he gave up his favourite sport because as a child he accidentally hit his sweetheart with a ball!

Well, as ideas go, this film is beyond mind-blowing!  Our hero does a fire-walking and boy, the heroine is his.  Not to be left behind is that unabashedly manipulated element called mother sentiment - the only way by which a good-for-nothing filmi hero can prove he is the greatest human being in 251356 districts!  And Rajeev Kanakala from Sye arrives with a bang after the 10th over to transform novices into experts in all areas - fielding, bowling, batting.  All that they have to do is imagine a mother-in-law now, a short Sachin Tenduklar next, and of course, the smiling lover girl next.  All this as the director forgets the heroine, the root cause of a super dumbed down version of the Lagaan match.

Raj Tarun is the sole driving force.  He is a natural and for all the apt roles that have been coming his way, he hasn't been lucky to get good scripts.  His dialogue delivery and timing are admirable.  Arthana holds some promise, but looking like a youngish version of yesteryear actress Kalyani could be her disadvantage.

Shakalaka Shankar gets to play a full-fledged character and he entertains.  Adarsh Balakrishnan is routine. Ranadhir is a good talent, who is wasted here.  Raja Ravindra is forgettable.  Sri Lakshmi should get funny roles; she can do justice to them.  N Shankar as the hero's father doesn't have the body language of a father.  Surekha Vani is routine.

The dialogues are witty, at least here and there.  But they lose the spark in the second half.

Srinivas Gavireddy (director) could have started off with a good story line; he does show some imagination, but in the absence of a strong line, one can only achieve so much.

The technical departments are the ones that make us sit through.  Viswa's cinematography and Gopi Sunder's music are among the top performers.

Verdict: A ball hits the crotch!  Don't even ask 'Howzatt'!

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