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Sammohanam - Straight to your heart
Suhansid Srikanth
Sammohanam, written and directed by Mohana Krishna Indraganti puts a heartwarming smile in your face all throughout. For larger parts, it reminded me of Tharun Bhascker's 'PelliChoopulu' - another light hearted film that won one and all with so much glow and heart. It is surprising how the Telugu industry, remembered a lot for its loud story telling comes up with these beautiful stories that are amusingly melodious.
A star actress coming to shoot a film in hero's house whose father happens to be a die-hard movie-buffis all that the film bases out as story. But despite all the risks of characters being reduced to caricatures, Sammohanam is enriched with humaneness. Apart from being a star gazed love story, the fascinating aspect of Sammohanam is how it embraces a family in it. With no blink of an eye, we can buy the love and affection amidst the members. Look at the sequence where the mother interacts with Vijay. How often do we see a mother opening up about her first love to his son in a mainstream South Indian film? It not only consoles the character but everyone watching it to let pitfalls happen to you once in a while.
The most interesting character of the film is definitely that of Vijay's father. An aspiring actor who never got his due till date is bracingly pulled off on screen. The 'Arjun Reddy' fame Rahul Ramakrishna is also here. Together as the mad blaze they are, the scenes are a riot with quirky innocent one liners through out that assures for great theatre uproars.
There is no technical exuberance or stunningly captured visuals. It plays within its limits but how gracefully! Be it the chaotic shooting setups, the rainy rides or the misty Manali, we feel us being amidst the characters. Vivek Sagar's songs are aural delight! The film for most part is conceived as a musical. It is through the songs and lyrics we get the mood and mind of the characters.
The film does falls flat at certain parts, say where the suicide angle is brought in..where a character explains everything that happened in Sameera's early life over a voice over..the demanding boyfriend character being treated as an antagonist which just doesn't fit into this otherwise breezy film. But the film overcomes everything with its lightheartedness. Nothing is dramatized. It weaves a fairy line between fiction and realism.
I couldn't connect much to Sudheer Babu's performance, for his face is so rigid and rested. He does a fair job but the chemistry keeps falling a bit below the line because of the insecurity he emits in his acting. I wonder how terrific someone like Vijay Devarakonda would have played this part. Whereas Aditi Rao Hydari, who plays Sameera Rathore, a star heroine, comes as a tulip blossomed in dew. Her freshness wipes off all the cliches. The moments mostly linger with her closeups and naivety. The vulnerability of the character is so effortlessly streamed in by her pauses.
Near end, we see a story being narrated as one that Vijay created for his book. It talks about how a kid waited for a star to arrive. We get that the star is referencing to Sameera here. But what makes it even more beautiful is when Sameera connects to the story putting herself in the kid's shoes claiming Vijay as the star who came down for her.
Bottom-line
A star actress coming to shoot a film in hero's house whose father happens to be a die-hard movie-buffis all that the film bases out as story. But despite all the risks of characters being reduced to caricatures, Sammohanam is enriched with humaneness. Apart from being a star gazed love story, the fascinating aspect of Sammohanam is how it embraces a family in it. With no blink of an eye, we can buy the love and affection amidst the members. Look at the sequence where the mother interacts with Vijay. How often do we see a mother opening up about her first love to his son in a mainstream South Indian film? It not only consoles the character but everyone watching it to let pitfalls happen to you once in a while.
The most interesting character of the film is definitely that of Vijay's father. An aspiring actor who never got his due till date is bracingly pulled off on screen. The 'Arjun Reddy' fame Rahul Ramakrishna is also here. Together as the mad blaze they are, the scenes are a riot with quirky innocent one liners through out that assures for great theatre uproars.
There is no technical exuberance or stunningly captured visuals. It plays within its limits but how gracefully! Be it the chaotic shooting setups, the rainy rides or the misty Manali, we feel us being amidst the characters. Vivek Sagar's songs are aural delight! The film for most part is conceived as a musical. It is through the songs and lyrics we get the mood and mind of the characters.
The film does falls flat at certain parts, say where the suicide angle is brought in..where a character explains everything that happened in Sameera's early life over a voice over..the demanding boyfriend character being treated as an antagonist which just doesn't fit into this otherwise breezy film. But the film overcomes everything with its lightheartedness. Nothing is dramatized. It weaves a fairy line between fiction and realism.
I couldn't connect much to Sudheer Babu's performance, for his face is so rigid and rested. He does a fair job but the chemistry keeps falling a bit below the line because of the insecurity he emits in his acting. I wonder how terrific someone like Vijay Devarakonda would have played this part. Whereas Aditi Rao Hydari, who plays Sameera Rathore, a star heroine, comes as a tulip blossomed in dew. Her freshness wipes off all the cliches. The moments mostly linger with her closeups and naivety. The vulnerability of the character is so effortlessly streamed in by her pauses.
Near end, we see a story being narrated as one that Vijay created for his book. It talks about how a kid waited for a star to arrive. We get that the star is referencing to Sameera here. But what makes it even more beautiful is when Sameera connects to the story putting herself in the kid's shoes claiming Vijay as the star who came down for her.
Bottom-line
Holding a love story that appeals to every sector of the audience, Sammohanam is your perfect weekend film that will put a smile on your face, tug a string in your heart and leaves you with an experience that hovers you with all the magic it spelled.
Rating: 3.5/5
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