'Sammathame' was released in theatres today. Produced by Kankanala Praveena, its theatrical release has been done by Geetha Arts' distribution wing.
Story
Krishna (Kiran Abbavaram) has always felt that his wife should be traditional and ideal. He grows up with an old-fashioned image of his wife because of his middle-class upbringing. When he moves to the city and falls in love with Saanvi (Chandini Chowdary), a city-bred girl who parties in pubs, he is naturally confused. Since he can't remove Saanvi from his mind, Krishna thinks he should pursue her and change her lifestyle before marriage. Can he succeed?
Performances
Kiran Abbavaram looks demotivated in a lot of scenes. The lack of energy is deliberate. Probably, the characterization and its sensibilities made him shed his 'SR Kalyanamandapam' loudness. Chandini Chowdary tries to do justice despite the looseness in the writing.
Goparaju Ramana, as the male lead's father, as a predictable character arc. Saptagiri's characterization and acting don't impress.
Technical aspects
This is a film with too many songs, with purportedly all of them designed to take the story forward. Shekar Chandra composes full-fledged as well as bit songs. Sateesh Reddy Masam's cinematography and Viplav Nyshadam's editing come with no special craft.
Analysis
'Sammathame' hinges on Krishna's somewhat weird thinking. He believes love has to happen after marriage just because love is pure. Or, maybe, he thinks girls have to be too sober to love someone before marriage. Understandably, Krishna opts for an arranged marriage. But his first-ever match-fixing stint goes haywire when Saanvi, his potential bride, breaks a piece of bad news.
The rest of the film is all about how obstinate Krishna can get in his thinking, and how Saanvi navigates the slowly evolving relationship between her and Krishna. Just to give an example, Krishna can't imagine a woman boozing. Saanvi is so freedom-loving that she secretly smokes on the balcony of her house.
Director Gopinath Reddy doesn't give the lead pair enough time to love each other and breathe. Every few minutes, the conflict plot point finds its way in an artificial turn of events and the dialogues veer towards a pre-decided place.
In films like this one, the resolution has to be really profound and convincing. The final act of 'Sammathame' doesn't offer any hard-hitting message. Saanvi doesn't have a strong reason to see Krishna as the best guy. The writing should have been far better to convince the audience about the depth of their relationship.
Closing Remarks
'Sammathame' is failed by flat narration.
