Saguni - Too Simplistic  (Visitor Review)

by Bharath Vijayakumar 

Titled after a mythological character who is known for his wits, and starring a hero who very early in his career seems to select his projects cleverly, your expectations about “Saguni” are bound to go up. If you go in expecting some brilliant mind games, you are bound to be disappointed.

Plot

The basic premise of the movie is almost similar to Dharani's “Dhool”. But unlike “Dhool” where the hero was a combination of brain and brawn, here the debutant director Shankar Dayal has tried to focus on the mind games of the protagonist. But the problem here is that the director has taken too simplistic an approach to solve the hero's problems and the tactics that he employs are as old as the hills and appear silly at times. And Karthi's role itself seems half baked. We are not sure whether he is naive or shrewd during the first half of the movie. And the hero's transformation happens all too suddenly without making an impact.

Cast

“Saguni” could well be the wake-up call for Karthi has had a dream run so far. Nothing can be faulted about his performance though. He is at ease in the comic portions with Santhanam. But his character is not well etched. Pranitha is gorgeous but has very limited screen time and disappears almost throughout the second half. Santhanam is having a ball these days and it continues to maintain his form in “Saguni”. If not for the comedian’s antics, Saguni might have struggled to even stay afloat. The Rajini - Kamal track is quite novel and has you in splits. The movie could have been much better was it a complete comic caper on the lines of BEB (Boss Engira Bhaskaran). Prakash Raj's role (which was supposedly re-shot after replacing Salim Ghouse) as the scheming villain has nothing new to offer. Radhika is back on big screen after a while. Another role in the movie which looks incomplete. There is a horde of other characters including those played by Kota Srinivasa Rao, Nasser and two cameos by leading heroines.

Crew

The songs by G.V.Prakash in “Saguni” are passable. But their placements are sore points. They pop up almost every time that you wish they hadn't. There is nothing to write home about the BGM either. Editing is by Sreekar Prasad. Some scenes tend to end abruptly and the movie tends to drag on forever. The camerawork by P.G.Muthiah is apt for a commercial flick.

The director has done well to do away with unnecessary stunt sequences. The comical portions are the high points in “Saguni”. It is only when things get serious and preachy that you get exasperated.

Bottomline

Go in with zero expectations and you might not be too disappointed.With the absence of any biggie for competition “Saguni” might do well at the box office but it definitely falls way short of the expectations it generated.