Snehamera Jeevitham Review

'Snehamera Jeevitham', starring Shiva Balaji, Rajeev Kanakala and Sathya in main roles, hits the screens this Friday.  Here is our review.

Story:

Mohan (Shiva Balaji) is an orphan who was embraced by Chalapathi (Rajeev Kanakala) as a child.  Over the years, their bond has only grown stronger and stronger, so much so, Chalapathi's mother won't be able to bear it if they were to break up.

And their relationship, predictably, does fall on the rocks when Mohan, who has loved Indira (Sushuma Yarlagadda) for more than a year, seems to slip out of his way.

Meanwhile, Chalapathi is on the verge of realizing his lifetime dream of becoming an MLA when his real troubles begin.

On the other hand, comedian Sathya, who plays a thief, starts bonding with Mohan at an emotional level.

How does Mohan's love for Indira change his life?  What is Chalapathi's 'sin'?  And what is the destiny of the two all-weather friends?  That's the rest of the story for you.

Analysis:

The film is set in 1982 when NTR was yet to launch his political party, and Chiranjeevi was known as 'Dynamic Star'.  Writer-director Mahesh Upputuri seems to have felt that, by virtue of it being a period drama, the film's characters can afford to behave in an outdated fashion.  In 1982, remember, what they are seen doing in the film was actually ahead of its times!  So, if you think the screenplay, the dialogues and the story itself are outdated, it's your fault that you are judging 'Snehamera Jeevitham' by today's yardsticks!  Better still, you should try to time-travel and marvel at the futuristic film unfolding in front of your eyes.

We have a few drunken guys debating whether love marriage is ideal and whether arranged marriage is the better bet.  In another scene, Chalapathi makes a prophecy about how politics will go on to become the biggest business proposition in India.  None of such scenes is written imaginatively.

The film is so indulgent about its period drama self that it becomes too conscious about its genre.  So when Indira talks, it's as if she is trying to imitate rather than emote.

You can be forgiven for thinking that, going by the title of the film, both the friends are going to have an almost equal screentime.  Although this is not possible (and sometimes not desirable) every time, it's almost unpardonable that comedian Sathya trumps Rajeev Kanakala beyond redemption.

This Sathya, who plays Ranga, comes with a done-to-death comedic style.  If his costumes and, to an extent, the language, are aptly of the bygone era, don't expect him to show any other innovation that would have befitted the genre.  It's as if he is a college-goer in a film set in 2017.

From a Jyothi Lakshmi-esque item song whose lyrics seem to do slut-shaming to a half-done track that refers to honour killing to a rooster which speaks to itself in the right slang, the film has them all, inspired rather badly.  From a character imitating Superstar Krishna as if it were the Jabardasth show to those 'Hand' and CPM party's symbols painted all over just to remind us that the story is set in 1982 (when TDP was not yet born), the film has them all.  At one point, a character says, "Bava kallallo anandam choodali!"  It's not known what the writer was thinking while writing this line.

Shiva Balaji is at his usual self.  He is earnest but he surely has no bandwidth to be a male lead.  It holds good for Rajeev Kanakala as well.  His slang is authentic and we root for his dialogue-delivery.

Sunil Kashyap's songs are OK.  Bharani K Dharan's cinematography largely passes muster but there is too much of inane colour grading at several places.

Verdict:

The film relies too much on dated emotionalism.  A formulaic story, it revels in inane action, sub-par comedy, and an over-indulgent narrative.