Savitri: A pedestrian show

Pavan Sadineni’s ‘Savitri’ is a disappointment with too many ingredients spoiling the recipe

A still from Savitri

Savitri is an excuse of a film, stale in its execution. The title character is a case study for beauty without brains in cinema, whose only dream has been to get married, ever since she dresses herself as a bride in a fancy dress competition and performs a bommala pelli in her childhood.

On the other hand is Rishi, an unpretentious flirt who meets Savitri, as he helps her catch a running train in a DDLJ -like scene. A sidekick even calls Rishi ‘bewars’ and ‘jobless’ for his persistent efforts to impress the girl. You too believe so, until the maker reveals his identity to be a doctor (who is strangely never seen in his medical outfit or at work). The romance between the two unfolds in the train amidst a laborious stretch where she tries to catch hold of an eloping couple and hand them over to their parents. The director tries to unravel the coming-of-age tale of a girl who just doesn’t know what she wants.

Savitri isn’t free of inspirations either; it has a consistent hangover of films like

Solo, Parugu and

Bommarillu . The family stands by the girl’s father (Murli Sharma), a man of principles, who goes overboard in taking care of his beloved daughter. His elder daughter Gayathri (Dhanya Balakrishna) is stifled into a marriage and it takes the presence of Rishi for him to realise the same. A line leading to the sequence, where the father and Rishi play cards goes like this, “

Meeku raju kavali, naku rani kavali (You want a king, I want a queen).”

A number of sub plots are squeezed in. Posani is made an object of mockery in a long, uninteresting car chase apart from eliciting a laugh or two. Shakalaka Shankar, Vennela Kishore, Ravi Babu, Jeeva all have brief parts. To add to the indulgence, there are enough references to the Nara and the Nandamuri clan, thanks to the presence of Nara Rohith. There’s even an action sequence where the baddies fall to all parts of the ground with Balakrishna’s songs playing in the background on a radio set.

Savitri ’s weakest links, sadly, are the two lead characters. While Rohith hardly makes an effort to perform, Nanditha’s act lacks grace. It is Dhanya Balakrishna, who despite a small role emerges the better performer. There is no conscious effort to tell a story here, the characterisations are frail. The director is easily distracted by the commercial swags and the result is thus a pedestrian one.

Savitri.

Cast: Nara Rohith, Nanditha, Prabhas Sreenu, Dhanya Balakrishna

Director: Pavan Sadineni

Music: Shravan

Rating: 2/5