Savarakathi Review - Dark humour with sparks of brilliance!!!

Bharath Vijayakumar

Just imagine a scene that has a man begging for his life but being mercilessly crushed to the ground and being beaten to pulp with sand and dust filling up his nostrils and mouth. This is a difficult image to get off your mind. But in Savarakathi while this scene has you squirming, the very next second something happens and out of the blue you have the audience laughing. This is the tone in which this film operates. The Mysskin touch (he has written the film) is evident in debutant Adithya's work but I somehow imagined if this is what it would be like if Bala had made a comic film. 

It is a little difficult to call the two leading men in Savarakathi eccentric because that is the tone in which the film operates with most characters having a weird streak. But these two are a cut above the rest. One is referred to as a mental rowdy whose face looks as calm as a sage but violence is the only mode that he operates in. The other has a know it all attitude and acts brave all the while but shudders in the inside. Both Ram and Mysskin make these characters work. Their performances might be somewhat one note but that is because the entire film happens in a day and their responses revolve mostly around a single motive.

I am a bit undecided about whether the movie worked as a whole. It definitely has us invested with its wacky treatment. We have been exposed to black comedies in the recent past in Tamil cinema. But this one is cut from a different cloth. I am really not able to point at what did not work but there are small stretches where you feel that the comedy or even the emotional beats are not working to their maximum potential. But a heartful laughter is around the corner most of the time. The climax again was not entirely seamless. You do understand where it is coming from and why Manga (Mysskin) decides something but a sense of contrivance prevails. 

Arrol Corelli does what he does best and that is add some soul through his music.

Bottomline:

Savarakathi does not try and cater to your needs. Debutant Adithya has made a film that he wants to make and has tried to pull us in. The result is a satisfying watch in its own way.

Rating: 2.75/5