'Saindhav' has been produced by 'Shyam Singha Roy' fame Niharika Entertainment. Producer Venkat Boyanapalli made a conscious effort to work with Venkatesh only because he respects and likes the actor's filmography. Does 'Saindhav' add value to the cinema-scape of the versatile Venky? Is it worth a watch? Is it more than a good movie? Let's find out in our review.
Plot:
SaiKo (Venkatesh) is shattered when his daughter Gayathri (Baby Sara) is diagnosed with a disorder affecting the motor neurons. She is running out of time. The catch is that the cost of treatment is unimaginable for 99.99% Indians - it is Rs 17 crore.
SaiKo, who has been leading his life away from violence, has to now get back to killing the bad guys ("bad uncles", as his daughter calls them) to be able to save his daughter. Vikas Mallik (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a demoniac ganglord, is in the way. SaiKo's face-off with the unforgiving Vikas is meant to make Chandraprastha cartel-free. Can he achieve his goal?
Performances:
Venkatesh's performance in the final 20 minutes was billed to be impeccable. The boast was no exaggeration. The actor's emotional involvement is better than what it was in 'Narappa'. His face shows the exhaustion of his character so well. Nawazuddin Siddiqui looks the part. He makes the world of 'Saindhav' look all the more sinister. Shraddha Srinath and Baby Sara, who distract the audience's attention from the menacing world of the film, are good.
We have a problem with the rest of the cast though. Arya (as a hired gun working for the good side), Ruhani Sharma (as a melodramatic doctor), and Ravi Varma are seen in ineffective cameos. Andrea Jeremiah (as the film's only negative female character) an archetypal role. Jayaprakash and Mukesh Rishi are also seen.
Technical Departments:
S Manikandan reunites with his 'HIT' franchise filmmaker to let the audience into the forbidding setting of the film. Santosh Narayanan's background score is broad in some portions. In others, it is dull and sounds like a rehash. Editor Garry BH's choices are run-of-the-mill. Since the film is set in a fictional coastal town, production designer Avinash Kolla had the task of making the ambiance look different from a Mumbai or a Vizag. But Chandraprastha is nothing different from the settings we are used to watching in noir gangster movies.
Merits:
1. The scene where Saindhav threatens Vikas and Mitra by barging into their place is whistle-worthy. You see the vintage Venkatesh of the 'Ganesh' days in the scene.
2. Showing SaiKo as terrifying from the start works as an idea. This build-up reminds us of recent trends in the action genre. Prashanth Neel and Lokesh Kanagaraj are consummate when it comes to doing this. Sailesh Kolanu tries his best to ape them.
3. A couple of melodramatic scenes.
Demerits:
1. The action scenes are uninventive. The choreography believes in style over substance.
2. Lack of surprises in the second half.
3. The film's attempt to be Telugu cinema's answer to Vikram makes it look unoriginal.
4. The strategies adopted by the antagonist don't create the required tension.
Vox Verdict:
'Saindhav' aims to be an atypical Sankranthi release with shades of 'Vikram' and loads of bloodshed. However, unoriginal writing overburdens Venkatesh to save the day and leaves the film high and dry.
