Saarocharu Review

Saarocharu's story did not deserve to be made into a feature film.  Instead, Parusuram should have actually thought of starting an irreverent website targeted at unmarried girls and asked them this question: If a guy, almost a stranger with whom you fell in love 24 hours ago, narrates an imaginary story of his marriage and divorce, only to say after some time that he concocted the story to test your temparamental suitability for a compatible married life, what would you do? You options are: A. I will tell him, "Ippudu inka nacchav ra. Nee paina prema marintha ekkuvaindi." (I might also do an Illeana and say, "Kick vacchindi ra.") B. I will express shock, ask him for time to think and probably write to Pooja Bedi asking her to help me to get out of the current spell of confusion. C. I will tell him that it is wrong to play with a girl's emotions and that it is highly insensitive to tell an imaginary story that might have resulted in a heart failure. I will tell him that I hate actors in real life.  Further, I will raise doubts about his sincerity and wisely ask him, "What is the guarantee that you will not tell me that you married me to know whether I will pass your test after 10 years?" D. Forget listening to the story, I would disappear from the scene as soon as he tells me that he is a divorcee, never to return back to him in my life.

The director of Saarocharu thinks that most girls are likely to go for option C. As for the boy, it is always better to build a long-lasting relationship on the foundations of a lie! This is not all. Parusuram's film is very preachy in that it repeats platitudes like this one - the rule for the husband is to love her more and try to understand her less; the rule for the wife is try to understand him more and to love him less. Why so? It is because, the film says, a sine qua non for a happy and ever-lasting marriage is very simple: More than love, understanding each other is very important.

Exclusively for our patrons, here are some silly 'gems' from the film that you would miss if you choose to walk out of the theatre: 1. We should start loving the other person after marriage, not before that. In fact, we should realize that we wrongly confuse `istham' before the marriage with 'prema.' 2. It is faith that is important, not clarity. 3. It is not wrong to concoct a lie with the good intention of tying the knot with the right girl or the right boy. It is better because 1000 lies that go with many marriages don't help a bit. If you are creative enough like Saar, and if you can emote well for 3 days, concealing your lie behind a grim-looking face, take your lessons from Saar. 4. If you still have a problem with the guy who has lied to you, do remember that 'nijayithi' is always preferable over 'nijam'. (The December 21 calamity which that Mayan calendar did not speak about must be this film).

The order is this: Lie first, marriage next, love last.

Whatever be your disposition, you would have one too many problems with Saaroccharu. Even the imaginary story that Ravi Teja's character spins, which is unarguably the film's most important part, is quite shoddily written and executed. A lonely wife wanting attention from her husband is alright, but the director has not written the scenes leading up to the ultimate break-up in a convincing manner.

It should have actually been titled as 'Madam Vaccharu, Vellipoyaru, Malli Vaccharu' as it is Kajal Agarwal who is the hero, not RT.

Toward the end, it starts looking real weird. That the good Bava (Nara Rohith in a cameo) will sagaciously exhort her saying 'Why are you cheating yourself?' is utterly predictable. To make the matters worse, RT is lionized as someone greater than the good Bava, who has been loving Kajal for 20 years, just because RT is The Hero Saar. Even as you righteously think in the mind of your minds, 'When did RT love her? What makes him, someone who is playing video games after the victim of his lie walked away in a fit of a rage, more qualified than the good Bava?

But then such is the idiotic stuff our films are made of.

For a film with a dumb story like this, the hero's choice could not have been worse. RT is a total misfit in this class appearance. He sleepwalks through the role. Kajal, though, deserves a pat on her back for carrying the film on her shoulders. She looks motivated and portrays the small emotions well. her role did not require a first-rate actress to pull it off. Parusaram, it seems, is a big Kajal fan in real life, because he has given her self-flattering dialogues. Her character is ill-etched, to say the least. Her thinking and attitude do not gel with the turn that the story takes in the pre-climax stage.

Richa's deadpan expressions make the matters worse. Also, her role is insubstantial. MS Narayana's brief appearance as Platinum Praneeth is good.

Most song situations are artificial. The narration is rather naive and plain; many dialogues sound like mothballs, while others have been tailor-made to suit the quirky narrative of the film.

It is not our quintessential DSP here.

Released on: 21st Dec, 2012