Siddham Review

JD Chakravarthy seemingly inspired by the Bollywood hit `Ab Tak Chappan' starring Nana Patekar has made `Siddham' with Jagapathi Babu and Sindhu Menon in the lead. The adventures of Mumbai Task Force officer Dayanayak who cleaned the city with more than fifty encounters in his service, got recognized for his honest and dedication in his profession. PSR Anjaneyulu, DIG Intelligence department is also known for his service. Inspired by these personalities, Ram Gopal Varma made the film in Hindi and following his mentor's path, JD has made a slick and realistic portrayal of a policeman's life in `Siddham'. Produced by Kiran Kumar Koneru on Shreya Productions banner, the film got released on 12th of February. 

Story

Circle inspector Dayanand alias Daya (Jagapathi Babu) is an encounter specialist in Hyderabad Task Force who does his job with perfection and is not concerned about killing criminals for the sake of the society. His assistants Fancis (Narsing Yadav) and Saleem (Kota Prasad) guide him in monitoring the mafia gang's plans and executing them at the right time. Daya is honest and right on his job supported by Commissioner Gurunayak (Kota Srinivasa Rao) which attains him fame in the media.

When the Commissioner retires from dutry, Sub inspector Saleem jealous of Daya's fame and name in the department and media hatches treacherous plans accompanied with the new Commissioner (Radha Ravi) who's in association with the mafia don Bilal (Mukund Dev). The trio imposes various hurdles in Dayanand's path to justice and murders his wife Gauri (Sindhu Menon) for vengeance. But, a determined Dayanand continues with his mission, foiling the plans of Sivalinga Prasad and Bilal to bring justice in the end.   

Performance of Cast

Jagapathi Babu is majestic and elegant in the role of police officer done by Nana Patekar in the Hindi version. His subtle mannerisms of handling the gun, thrashing the criminals and executing plans is no way similar to Nana Patekar's portrayal thus giving a new feel for this film. He has done justice to the role in his natural style and his body language is completely different from `Homam' which is unique. Sindhu Menon is cute and sweet in playing the loving wife of the cop with less screen space yet leaves her mark.

Mukund Dev's villainous demeanor in the role of a mafia don is able and he had done a believable act. Ace actor Kota Srinivas Rao has done his part with perfection. Kota Prasad, Narsing Yadav, Mukul Dev, Vizag Prasad, Dr Sivaprasad, Subbaraju in the cast have displayed neat acting within the space their roles offered. 

Work of the Crew

Amar Mohale's music composition is good and re-recording the most important aspect of the film is handled skillfully by the composer. In every scene, the background score rendered raises curiosity among the viewers making the scenes interesting. For the action flick, with jazz guitars and piano tunes, he has delivered a good job.

The lighting effects created by cameraman Bharani K Dharan give a natural feel for the sequences and camera angles are placed accordingly for a fast paced narration. Editing by Bhanodaya is done at the right points and doesn't lag except for a few scenes.

Director's Portrayal

From the school of Ram Gopal Varma, JD Chakravarthy is close on his heels in making flicks on real life incidents. With `Homam', he debuted to Telugu cinema which was a Hollywood inspiration and `Siddham' is on an entirely new perspective of police stories. He is good at narration, screenplay and picturizing real life emotions on screen. But, his works are for the niche audience and might not appeal the larger crowd. He deserves a pat on the back for bringing such themes to Tollywood. If he chooses a mass story next time, it will be loved by one and all.

Criticism

`Siddham' is in the line of encounter specialist stories like `Ankusam', `Gharshana', and the latest `Satyameva Jayathe'. But, the film stands apart with its close-to-life making and portrays the emotions of cops on celluloid which films seldom do. Encounters has a before and after effect consequences for the policemen which is being told in this film. Nana Patekar's performance in `Ab Tak Chappan' is glorious and outstanding which is unbeatable. Yet, JD and Jagapathi Babu had managed to make it in their own style which is plausible. `Siddham' is not for the people who watched the Hindi film or for the action masala lovers but it's for the niche audience who love realism in movies.

Verdict: Watch it if you like a realistic approach to action sans commercialism

Released on: February 12, 2009