Gurthunda Seethakalam Movie review: ‘Love Mocktail’ remake remains tasteless

Happening actor Satya Dev comes with breezy entertainer “Gurthunda Seethakalam,” featuring Tamannaah, and Megha Akash. The film created huge buzz in film circles with their trailers and promotions. The other reason for this response is that this is the outcome of Satya Dev after a terrific performance in Chiranjeevi’s “godfather.” The fil got released in theatres and let’s see how the film fares at box-office.

Story

Satya Dev meets Megha Akash at a hill station in Karnataka and these two, who are strangers to each other, then start the journey to Bengaluru. Satya starts narrating his story to Megha and opens up about his marital life with his wife, played by Tamannaah. What is the marital story? How do Satya and Megha end the journey is the remaining plot of the story.

Analysis

This film is a remake of Kannada film “Love Mocktail” and the director Nagasekhar pretty much sticks to all the elements of the original. But he fails to get the same emotional connect as the original which is very crucial for such subjects. Towards the end, when the narrative gets sobbing, the desired emotional connect is inexistant.

The love track between Satya and Tamannaah is okayish at best. The film just appears to be an combination of one formulaic love scene after another. There are a few bright moments here and there. But as a whole, this film lacks the desired emotional connect that is needed for a film that essentially runs on heartfelt emotions.

On a whole, “Gurthunda Seethakalam” is a love drama but it struggles due to the lack of emotional drive. Better writing and narration could’ve helped the film. The all-important emotional climax ends underwhelmingly. This film ends up as a below-par love drama.

Performances

Satya is a proven performer and he is in his element as he plays a man with an emotionally stirring past. His portrayal is of top quality. He looks settled and emotes the key emotions very well. Megha Akash plays a brief role and she delivers what is expected from her. Tamannaah is alright in her role. She sports a de-glam look in the closing portion. The role is a challenging one and she has done a passable job at it. Remaining cast tried to show their presence and they are okayish in their given portions.

Technicalities

Writer and director Nagasekhar could have spent much more time in developing the script for a better result. He should recognise that breezy scenes and performances will not give a positive result to a film. The background score by Kaala Bhairava is adequate and his songs are alright. The cinematography by Satya Hegde is decent. Editing could have been much better as the film lags in some pieces. Production values are very good as the film looks fresh and colourful.

Advantages

Satya Dev’s performance

A couple of breezy scenes

Drawbacks

Lack of emotional drive

No freshness in the presentation

Underwhelming climax