Gautamiputra Satakarni: with unwavering focus, film talks of Telugu identity

It is a landmark 100th film for Balakrishna, by number and quality too.

A still from Gautamiputra Satakarni

‘ Yuddhalu enduku jarugutayi ?’ a young prince Satakarni asks his mother Gautami Balasiri as he awaits his father’s return at the Satavahana palace. ‘ Adhikaram kosam ’, she says and Satakarni replies ‘ Desam ekamaite yuddhalundavu kada ’'. Only a capable ruler can do that, she asserts and from thereon Satakarni transforms into a man who thinks about his nation, where there’s peace and unity.

Director Krish Jagarlamudi couldn’t have envisaged a firmer foundation than this to establish Gautamiputra Satakarni’s part in the historical feature. The filmmaker humanises historical characters to ring in contemporary relevance in a dialogue-fest that’s crisply packaged for Balakrishna’s 100th film.

Satakarni, the king, is indispensable but not unquestionable. Queen Vasishti Devi too never shies away from questioning his priorities. In a playful conversation, she feels that a coin should have a God’s imprint and not of the ruler. To Vasishti, he is husband first and ruler next. When she realises that her son is bound to take part in a war — she hears it first from a ‘kathaaganam’ (Shiv Rajkumar makes a special appearance) where Satakarni’s story is narrated to people — she fights with Satakarni and he makes efforts to convince her of the necessity.

Despite Satakarni’s occasional lines like ‘

Gajulu ammayalaki, gayalu magallaki andam’ indicating the era’s chauvinistic nature, the ruler does an agra puja  to his widowed mother defying patriarchal customs. From thereon he’s called Gautamiputra Satakarni. The importance given to a woman’s voice and how it shapes Satakarni’s ideologies makes this straightforward war-drama feel special.

Whenever the ruler is questioned about the need for war, he responds with “You are looking at light and I’m diminishing darkness, margalu veraina gamyam okkate .”

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Krish makes the war sequences feel real without digital gimmicks. What the director also focusses on is the emotional high and basics of war-detailing. Burra Sai Madhav’s crisp lines don’t go overboard on heroics. Surprisingly, Balakrishna compares his dynasty to an ant and how it can reign supreme over a lion (the Greeks in this case). Krish doesn’t let expressions like ‘ prakshalana cheddam ’ and ‘ desam meesam tippudam ’ that are a toast to Balakrishna’s image, hinder his storytelling.

There are two war episodes that drive the film and most other sequences only establish a foundation to both of them. Although you see artistry around costumes, palaces and its interiors, there’s ample focus on natural locations. When Satakarni gifts farmers the battlefields for cultivation, it feels apt for Sankranti.

What makes this Krish’s best outing is its consistency, thanks to a tight script and supreme performances from Balakrishna and Shriya. Hema Malini gets a lot of scope to perform too. The success of the narrative lies in not compromising on scholarship and yet retaining simple dialogues. The music bears a rich Hindustani and folk flavour that benefits the film. The film talks of Telugu identity, re-emphasises Amaravati’s cultural significance, talks of a borderless society, gives Shriya a role of a lifetime and yet remains a Balakrishna film, an achievement for Krish in only his seventh outing.

Gautamiputra Satakarni

Cast: Balakrishna, Shriya, Hema Malini

Music : Chirantan Bhatt

Director: Krish Jagarlamudi