‘Sing Geetham’ film review: A bold musical fantasy from Singeetham Srinivasa Rao

At a clip erstwhile Telugu cinema seems trapped successful the pursuit of pan-Indian ambitions, with big-budget productions often resting connected weakly written stories, Sing Geetham is simply a refreshing departure. Directed by 94-year-old filmmaker Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, it serves arsenic a timely reminder that the manufacture tin inactive instrumentality leaps of religion and connection audiences thing new. The communicative reflects connected the futility of quality greed portion reinforcing the request to unrecorded successful harmony with Nature. Its philharmonic fantasy-drama format springs from childlike innocence and an audacity to defy stale box-office formulas. Bringing wings to Rao’s 40-year-old imagination task is simply a talented formed and crew, with euphony composer Devi Sri Prasad serving arsenic the film’s backbone.

C Ankur’s cinematography frames the arid scenery arsenic 1 of the film’s cardinal characters arsenic Pratap (newcomer Ayaan) approaches the fictional colony of Kuberapuram. The mounting feels astir dystopian. A lone histrion offers structure to villagers and passersby successful the dusty mining settlement. As if from a children’s fairytale, Gauri (newcomer Ahilya) emerges from a cosy abode wrong the tree. As its sanction suggests, the colony is affluent successful gold, and its mines are coveted by section and planetary interests alike. As profiteers oculus expansion, the histrion comes nether threat.

The speech astir the committedness of wealthiness and development, and wherefore a histrion should not basal successful the way, instantly draws parallels to municipality realities. In Hyderabad, debates proceed implicit trees lining the KBR National Park being felled for flyovers. Similar concerns echo crossed India arsenic greenish screen gives mode to infrastructure projects. A movie tackling specified a taxable could easy go preachy and dull. Instead, the philharmonic phantasy format gives it a caller spin, making it entertaining and engaging.

If immoderate of Rao’s astir iconic films were celebrated for their wordplay, Sing Geetham carries echoes of that spirit. The opening portions are filled with witty exchanges and playful moments arsenic the village’s residents, played by Shalini Kondepudi, Banerjee, Sivanarayana and others, are introduced.

Let the euphony begin

The modulation depicting however the colony is cursed, leaving its radical incapable to talk and forced to pass done song, is simply a joyousness to watch. As the bewildered villagers aftermath up to their caller world and the catchy “Emayindi emayindi…” begins to play amid cheers successful the theatre, it is hard not to respect Rao’s ingenuity. Once again, helium manages to bring retired the kid successful each viewer, overmuch arsenic helium did successful milestone films specified arsenic Aditya 369, Bhairava Dweepam, Apoorva Sagodharargal and Michael Madana Kama Rajan.

Much of the recognition goes to the actors, young and old, who sing each enactment of dialog passim the film. Ayaan and Ahilya are terrific finds, bringing innocence, warmth and vulnerability to their roles. It takes a portion to set to seeing the usually amiable Shalini Kondepudi arsenic a shrewd, calculating businesswoman, but she gradually settles into the role’s required coldness. Seasoned actors specified arsenic Banerjee, Sivanarayana and Tulasi stay dependable assets. The existent astonishment comes from the galore kid actors, who present their sing-song dialog with singular ease.

The communicative touches connected respective themes, from religion to humanity’s inclination to marque idiosyncratic arsenic a atrocious omen. A flashback featuring cameos from well-known actors provides the affectional anchor and discourse the play needs. However, successful the second portions, erstwhile humour recedes and the communicative moves afloat into phantasy territory, with melodramatic detours connected the roadworthy to redemption, the movie occasionally feels stretched.

Yet Sing Geetham is the benignant of movie I would gladly surrender to alternatively than nitpick. The philharmonic conversations kept maine invested throughout. In an epoch of short-form videos and shrinking attraction spans, presenting an engaging communicative arsenic a philharmonic feels similar a astute mode to clasp an audience’s interest. Devi Sri Prasad takes connected the formidable situation of composing for an full film, ensuring the tuneful conversations stay playful and casual to follow.

Sing Geetham is dissimilar Hollywood musicals built astir song-and-dance routines. It is person successful tone to the 1964 French classical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, wherever dialog itself is sung.

The young absorption team, led by enforcement manager Sankalp Gora, on with co-writers Gautami Challagulla, Nanda Kishore Emani, Shashank Chintalpudi, Ratna Sreekar and Rahul V Rajeswar, merit recognition for successfully translating Singeetham Srinivasa Rao’s imaginativeness to the screen. The penning carries genuine affectional weight, and the execution manages to honour it — a rarity successful Telugu cinema implicit the past fewer months. Credit is besides owed to Nag Ashwin and Vyjayanthi Films for backing Rao’s unconventional thought contempt modern box-office pressures.

By the extremity of Sing Geetham, I recovered myself wondering however the squad pulled it off. Much similar generations of Telugu and Tamil cinema lovers proceed to marvel astatine however Rao brought truthful galore of his seemingly intolerable ideas to life. It is nary astonishment that helium remains celebrated, oregon that his films proceed to endure.