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Sakkarakatti Review: ALL COTTON, NO CANDY
Starring: Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, Ishitha, Vedhika
Direction: Kalaprabhu
Music: A.R.Rahman
Production: Thanu
Like the sugar cube Sakkarakatti refers to, the movie dissolves quickly, turning to nothing even before interval. Sakkarakatti wants to be cho shweet, but its cho boring. A thin, outdated script about a love triangle set in a college, the story does not carry the resonance newer Tamil films like Subramaniapuram and Saroja have had on an audience geared up for more. Debutant hero Shanthanu Bhagyaraj's likeable presence and Rahman's songs alone keep the movie from melting into total fluff.
Shanthanu is the charming, carefree son of rich parents living in a fancy, gated colony. The friends who hang out with him are childhood pals from the same colony. They have just finished school and have begun college. There Shanthanu falls in love with Ishita Sharma, his glamorous looking classmate, who in turn falls in love with him. Enter Vedhika, his cousin, who has had a crush on him since they were kids. A series of misunderstandings follow, separating Shanthanu and Ishita.
That's not just the heart of the plot, but the plot itself. One misunderstanding is resolved only for another to spring up. And to bridge these moments of togetherness and being apart, Kalaprabhu, making his debut as director, throws in songs. It doesn't help. At no point does the movie draw you in and make you care for the characters or keep you involved. And by the time the climax takes place, the audience was booing. The only thing in favor of Kalaprabhu – a filmmaker without any previous hands-on experience- is that Sakkarakatti doesn't feel amateurish
That's not just the heart of the plot, but the plot itself. One misunderstanding is resolved only for another to spring up. And to bridge these moments of togetherness and being apart, Kalaprabhu, making his debut as director, throws in songs. It doesn't help. At no point does the movie draw you in and make you care for the characters or keep you involved. And by the time the climax takes place, the audience was booing. The only thing in favor of Kalaprabhu – a filmmaker without any previous hands-on experience- is that Sakkarakatti doesn't feel amateurish
Ishita Sharma, is unimpressive – but in such an underwritten role, who wouldn't be? The second heroine, Vedhika, dances well and at least has some screen presence. One of the hero's friends- the one with the French beard- shows promise as a comedian. Shanthanu has to play a thinly sketched hero, but he puts energy and charm into everything he does. He is more than promising- he's star material, and he'll survive this wreck.
Taxi, Taxi and Chellamma, Chelakamma sizzle with energetic choreography. But the picturization for the other songs don't measure up; very few directors seem to know what to do with Rahman's deeply rich rhythms. Something Sakkarakatti tries to do differently with its songs is the bold use of scorching graphics as background. It would have counted for something if the movie had amounted to something. What the graphics do instead is to make the movie even more fluffy, clueless and gimmicky.
Often there is no clue in the visuals where the movie is taking place. It is supposed to be Chennai, but it could be Singapore or Australia. Shanthanu and his folks live in a suburb that belongs more to Long Island, New York, than any Indian city. The college he studies in is a swankier version of Loyola. When the story isn't happening here, it takes place on wide, tree-lined roads and lush parks. The director wants a young, effervescent audience to enjoy the fluffy cotton candy he's made for them, but it melts into nothing even before you've licked it.
Taxi, Taxi and Chellamma, Chelakamma sizzle with energetic choreography. But the picturization for the other songs don't measure up; very few directors seem to know what to do with Rahman's deeply rich rhythms. Something Sakkarakatti tries to do differently with its songs is the bold use of scorching graphics as background. It would have counted for something if the movie had amounted to something. What the graphics do instead is to make the movie even more fluffy, clueless and gimmicky.
Often there is no clue in the visuals where the movie is taking place. It is supposed to be Chennai, but it could be Singapore or Australia. Shanthanu and his folks live in a suburb that belongs more to Long Island, New York, than any Indian city. The college he studies in is a swankier version of Loyola. When the story isn't happening here, it takes place on wide, tree-lined roads and lush parks. The director wants a young, effervescent audience to enjoy the fluffy cotton candy he's made for them, but it melts into nothing even before you've licked it.
Credits to www.behindwoods .com
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