What Is the Story About?
Krishna (Karthik Rathnam) is in love with Pushpa (Krishna Priya) since their school days. They live in a small town of Telangana, Siricilla, which is filled with deeply ingrained caste feeling among individuals. Every individual is aligned with others in the name of caste. Pushpa’s father, fed up with the system, joins the Naxal movement, but he quits as the same is seen there.
Years pass, and Krishna’s love grow manifolds for Pushpa. However, Pushpa never reciprocates his love. It is a one-sided affair. One day Krishna is hurt by an incident thinking wrongly that a rival has proposed to Pushpa. In a rage of fit, he attacks the person. It is the tiny spark the folks in the village await to burn down the opposition. What happens to Krishna and Pushpa when the whole town goes berserk?
Performances?
Karthik Rathnam is perfect in the role of an ordinary village-based guy loving a girl sincerely. He did an excellent job of portraying the simplicity and honesty of the part. If not for this quality, it would be not easy to take forward the premise.
If one were to be critical, there is a lot to do for Karthik Rathnam but he fails mainly because of the way his character is written. It is weak and lacks purpose (in a lead sense) for the most part.
Analysis
The story of Ardha Shatabadham offers a lot of potentials to make a gritty and gripping fare. The high-wise tensions could be put to great use in the story. Unfortunately, the director Rawindra Pulle fails in doing proper justice to the script.
The biggest issue with Ardha Shatabdham is the commercialisation and the lack of clarity of the director. The first half is the commercial side, whereas the content and intention of the movie are packed in the second half. No wonder the second half is where the meat lies.
The entire one-sided love story involving Krishna is a drag. We know where it is headed. To then go about the proceedings predictably with so many songs is a sacrilege a director must not commit.
The weak dialogues and non-existent romance make for a dull narrative. The director tries to impart the feeling with songs, but it adds to the length and doesn’t do any good on the emotional connection with the lead pair.
The movie gets into the track from the interval. It gets to the caste angle it opens with at the start. It is what has been on everyone’s mind. A few sequences are well placed in this regard. A genuine tension is felt regarding the lead pair.
However, it is short-lived. The absolute lack of connection between the lead pair is to be blamed here. It is correct from the director’s point of view, but the problem is that it hasn’t been portrayed, brought out effectively. A few dialogues lead us to the undercurrent emotion, but the lackluster execution fails to elevate it.
Some dialogues related to human evolution and behaviour w.r.t to the caste shine in between. But, it leads to nowhere. Here the character of Ram (essayed by Sai Kumar) is critical. Sadly, it is poorly written with clarity in thought. It impacts the narrative when it matters. The climax suffers due to it.
On the whole, Ardha Shatabdham has a ‘now-routine caste-related’ plot. It is let down by a weak execution lacking clarity on the commercial and content-related aspects. One can try it if they are okay with the ‘few’ engaging moments.
Other Artists?
Many actors play small bits and pieces roles. They are all shallow and offer no depth at all. Among the many Krishna Priya, Sai Kumar, Subhalekha Sudhakar, and Aamani impress in a few scenes. Naveen Chandra gets one of the worse roles of his career. It is loud and over the top with rhyme or reason to exist.
Music and Other Departments?
The music by Nawfal Raja IAS is decent, at best. The placement of the songs is bad, and hence they don’t impress much. The background score, too, is alright. There are multiple cinematographers for the movie, which reflects in the output. Some sequences are good, whereas others are pretty bad visually. One can feel the editing to be patchy due to the many cuts it might have gone through. The writing is okay in few places but overall is bland.
Highlights?
Basic Idea
Few Scenes In Second Half
Climax
Drawbacks?
Rushed Making
Boring Narrative
Weak Conflict
Writing, Barring A Few Parts
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, In Parts
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, But With Huge Reservations
Ardha Shathabdham Review by Binged Bureau
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