Sweet, but predictable family drama 

This is rural ‘Hum Aapke Hai Kaun’ (‘HAHK’). Sweet, syrupy and ‘old - world’. It painstakingly salutes a period gone by and a time freezed to nostalgia. Many may connect either directly or by some remote connect.

It starts from ‘Mithunam, but moves on to the larger than life accusation against a generation that have moved on in search of its dream. Very judgmental, it seeks to market the village backyard. HAHK meets ‘Bhagbaan’. Added to this is the NRI facet.

While one part of the script is dedicated to the grandeur of the joint family, the rest is an accusation on those who have left behind the luxury of the status quo in search of their dreams. Filmmaker Sathish Vegesna makes a feeble attempt to contend that it’s the extreme indifference that hurts.

He clearly takes the side of ‘the left behind’ and suggests that the ‘parent forgetting’ Gen-Next is indifferent and insensitive to the caring waiting parent. Once this prerogative is conceded, you must admit that the film delivers and does not hold back. The full throat narrative is willing to go whole hog and whole hog it goes.

Back there on the banks of the Godavari is the patriarch Raghava Raju (Prakash Raj) and his wife Janakamma (Jayasudha) living with one bitter note: that their children had moved on. The ‘empty nesters’ are pinning for the children to return.

They have their elder son Ravi in USA, second son Kalyan in Canada and their daughter Jhansi (Indraja) and son-in-law Kishore (Raja Ravindra) in Australia. A communication from dad finds the siblings press the panic buttons and land up at the ancestral home.

In the village, the ageing couple is pampered and taken care of by absent minded Kangarraju (Naresh) and his son Raju (Sharvanand). While Raju is the local Good Samaritan, he has the proverbial gang that is with him. The NRI units one after the other, arrive to clichéd stances. The NRI and the Indian village contrast is established on predictable lines.

The Aussie unit also has Nitya (Anupama Parameswaran) who is the romantic angle to the story. The children are told that the elderly couple is heading for a divorce. The children find it difficult to accept the impending tragedy, but do little to keep their parents together. Though in India, they are shown to be wrapped in their own world (yet another inaccurate, exaggerated black-while-divide qua the NRI).

So Raju decides to have the local cable network and communication tower disconnected to ensure that the family that stays together lives together. What pushes them to a realisation and after a minor hiccup and what brings the romantic couple to take the plunge constitutes the climax.

Apart from the ‘storyline’ the film has a team that is very sincere with performances. Prakash Raj and Jayasudha are vintage wine. Both ensure you have your paisa vasool. Prakash Raj keeps the simmering facet to the predictable soliloquy to the finale in a manner you have come to expect from him. While the rest of the cast is reduced to cardboard cut-outs, Naresh shines as the absent-minded man-Friday.

Sharwanand is his usual confident self. He plays his role with confidence and sincerity. Anupama Parameswaran makes for a good addition. One visible loose end in the film is the giveaway accent of the cast.

None of the NRIs speak proper English - leave alone English with an accent - all the while Prakash Raj fights hard to tone down his capacity to speak the language properly. The film is a ‘family entertainer’ that you safely watch with family. It has no violence, no strained humour line and the right ambience.

Film Name : Shatamanam Bhavathi
Cast : Sharwanand, Anupama Parameshwaran, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha and Naresh
Direction : Satish Vegesna
Genre : Family drama
Likes : Performers
Dislikes : Preachy