Sarileru Neekevaru

rape, accusations of sexual harassment, misogyny, forced marriage, non-consensual physical touch

• Cast: Mahesh Babu, Vijayshanthi, Rashmika Mandanna…
• Director, Writer: Anil Ravipudi
• Music Director: Devi Sri Prasad

When Ajay’s fellow soldier dies, he steps in to support his family in solving their problems.

With no new storyline, new take, or new ideas, the story is predictable, flat, and unremarkable.

• Direction: A majority of the movie was filled with unnatural interactions, behaviors, and characters. This movie may have been more successful as a parody of the idiocy it genuinely roots for. The most uncomfortable characters to watch were Samskruthi and her family. There was a decision to use mindless body language and shallow interactions and personalities to fill up screen time and add to the romanticizing/glorifying of Ajay. Although Jayaprakash did an excellent job adding comedy to his similar character in the movie Dhee, it was not necessary here – there was no point in copying the character unless it involved an inability to come up with original ones. Basic movements like walking and head-turning were overly choreographed, adding to the peculiarity of the movie.
• Acting: The best performance in the movie was given by Rajiv Kanakala. Probably the actors most committed to doing the script justice were Sangeetha and Rao Ramesh, as terrible as their writing was. Other than that, most of all the other actors have given much better performances at one if not many points in their careers. Mahesh Babu committed to looking cool through failed smolders and awkward stiff shoulders. Focus on the story may have been a little less embarrassing. Although Prakash Raj’s acting expression-wise was on point, his accent was inconsistent. Vijayshanthi’s performance was subpar compared to her brilliant career. Most of the actors’ dialogue didn’t sync with the lip movement which was just another blow to the standards which are already below the bare minimum.
• Cinematography: The lighting in this movie is completely distracting. Clear shadows and distinct contrast made it clear that scenes set in the dark were shot under bright light. Light was placed pointedly at the characters and instead of setting the scene/mood, it served as amusement.
• Production Design: The production failed to convince the audience of most of the sets. The awkwardly bright lighting and sets showed minimal effort towards realism made it very apparent that we were watching a scene shot in a set. The creative choice of using mist and ridiculously bright light to cover up the ends of the set backfired.
• Editing: The story flowed smoothly but was stretched too long. It might have been better if they cut out unnecessary sequences and removed shots of Mahesh Babu walking.
• Music: The background score while well done, seemed disproportionate to what was happening in the scene. The music, unfortunately, wasn’t enough to carry the story or the characters. The title song and versions of it that played throughout the movie were well above the story and writing in terms of engagement and emotions.
• Dialogues: Most of the dialogue sounds like it was written in one go, proceeding to production without reviewing it. There’s so much dialogue dedicated to elevating Ajay, the plot was lost.

• Raghu Babu’s character as the teacher the MLA abuses was irritating and wasted screen time. However, he fits well into the series of poorly written scenes, characters, and dialogue, and it’s almost no surprise that his character is in existence.
• Subbaraj’s character was written to serve “comedic” value and to make Ajay look better. Maybe this begs the question – why does one’s value lie in being better than someone else; on the flip side – why must one person be demeaned to make another look better?
• If Mental Krishna’s character was added to increase the animosity towards the police and give us a satisfactory moment when Vijayashanthi wins, that was a failure.
• Multiple instances reminded us of other movies. While this is normal in art, this movie felt too derivative – the storyline from Athadu, the slapstick comedy sequence from Aagadu, and certain fight shots that reminded us of Iddharammailatho
• Breaking the fourth wall may not have been necessary for this movie and the artistic communication it presented. It did not make sense nor was it rewarding for the audience.
• That was the most stable train probably in existence, not a shake no matter what – it’s like they didn’t even try to convince us.
• There is beauty when the audience is left to form opinions by presenting stories and characters from a neutral lens. It’s not a universal approach as it would require one to sit with the internal biases they are vulnerable to. This movie was delivered in the most biased way possible.
• The sequence of rescuing the kids from the terrorists is comedic and worthy of mockery. While it is not the style of Telugu cinema to always have realistic fights, some shots went too far. Mahesh Babu hanging from a rope apparently coming from the sky, begs to ask if God was holding the other end of the rope. The people who supposedly don’t know where the kids are, and have not much of a plan, have no problem shooting every which way multiple times, risking injuring or killing the kids. After the fight, the kids ran out in spotless school uniforms to their parents who were right outside for some reason.

No.

I see Mahesh Babu fans willing to watch all the elevating shots of him, where there are a lot of. Otherwise, I don’t recommend this three-hour atrocity to anyone.

• When Mahesh Babu’s character talks about going with “glamor movies” I couldn’t have agreed that his strength lies in aesthetics and I’m not quite sure if he is aware of what that implies
• Samskruthi continously hugging Ajay and the way she approaches him is harassment. The concept of consent probably just left the scene when the open credits rolled.
• It’s not like I refuse to acknowledge that Mahesh Babu’s whole thing is being better than the woman in his movies – doesn’t mean I have to be okay with it. Maybe Mahesh Babu is stupid for not knowing what he’s worth, or he thinks there is an appeal in meeting people and continuing to fuel their low self-esteem. Who knows. I’ll keep saying it though.
• Romanticizing a disrespectful man, who is obnoxious when there is a dangerous situation going on, and smolders for no reason is highly questionable.
• Mahesh Babu cutting a tomato like he’s never done it before and cleaning a clean tractor were the most hilarious shots of the movie
• The train scene: I mean where do I start? If that sequence represents where we are as a community – laughing at disgusting family dynamics, child marriage, forced marriage,  patriarchy, rape, and abuse, maybe we should take a moment to reflect.
• Rao Ramesh saying that in India you don’t have to like your partner but you just go with the flow as if you were on a train brought a heaviness to my heart that stayed through the end of the movie.
• Why are they wearing lab coats in a lecture hall? I went to medical school y’all, I know what I’m talking about.
•  I just have to mention this again – the lighting was outrageous. There are scenes where it looks like God is right outside waiting for the scene to end.
• In the MLA’s house, there are multiple pictures of him, living up to his inflated self view which was a nice touch
• Okay I get it, it’s hard writing comedy with good timing that lands well – so we saw the easy version of this – coming up with a couple lines you keep repeating over and over.
• Vijayshanthi had a pointed title when her name appeared – while it was fun to see a woman’s name put up on the screen during her entry for a change – it was meaningless. As a woman, it doesn’t make up for all the misogyny throughout the movie and as an actor, she was given a terribly written character that wasn’t worthy of praise.
• Why are we as an audience accepting what was shown as heroism? Ajay is a rude man that has no regard or respect for the people around him. Take Rajendra Prasad’s character – he supports Ajay throughout the movie but is constantly dismissed and invalidated by Ajay, only inflated by the background score.
• Samskruthi’s family has a despicable and toxic dynamic. In an age where mental health is only gaining visibility and progress is at a snail’s pace, jokes about these unhealthy relationships and disgusting power dynamics is a slap in the face of people trying to uplift community.
• I, personally, don’t have favorable feelings towards the military but, the world is what it is and for the work that they do – they deserve better

• Movie Rating: 1/10
• Maguva Impact Scale: -3