Sapta Saagaradache Ella - Side B - Kannada, 144 mins, Love story, Prime Video
SSE - Side A came in September 2023 and left audiences waiting to see how the love story of “Katthe” Manu (Rakshit Shetty) and “Putti” Priya (Rukmini Vasanth) would end. No prices guessing how it does, but the journey is always better than the end!
SSE - Side B is red, shades of grey, devoid of light ( you do not get a single shade of Blue, till the very end )..The title song gets a grungier version introducing you into the post Covid world of 2021 - Manu returns, after his jail term and sets out to discover his Putti. He is helped back into his life by Prakash (a superb Gopal Krishna Deshpande) - his friend from his time in prison. Manu finds that Putti is leading a life devoid of any colour. How he tries to bring back happiness (symbolised by the music and colour) is what the movie is about.
Manu seeks solace in a sex worker with the pseudonym Surabhi (a delightful Chaitra Achar) - Their initial scenes are absolutely wonderfully shot/edited - he seeks his Putti in her, while we see Surabhi- bravo!. Another sequence is when Manu is stalking Putti from a distance, he works magic to brings light into her life (with a throwback to SSE Side A) - lovely screenplay from director Hemanth Rao.
Ramesh Indra returns as Soma, the baddie who is left deaf after the mauling he received from Manu in Side A. Every time his face breaks into the devious smile and says “Manu”, he recreates the dread!. In my opinion - This track probably has no business in the movie - but the payoff is a thrilling action sequence at the end when Manu meets Soma and his goons.
It is a single take sequence , camera panning in, then wide, then out, brilliant sound design , you hear each nick/cut/slice , which you do not even see - top notch! One of the many sequences which show the world class cinematography, lighting and set design.
The only sore point otherwise is the rushed conclusion to Prabhu (Achyut Kumar’s betrayal) - It almost has a very comical end, especially that it is what sets up this entire story!
Rakshit Shetty is superb, he is heavier, his wavy locks are gone, his smile is almost wiped out - you see frustration, desperation , anger and determination . We see very little of Rukmini Vasanth, she barely smiles..and when she does, you smile too, so illuminating!
The movie ( i would watch it back to back as one) feels like one of the wonderful love stories which film makers like K Balachander / Bharathiraja / Mani Ratnam would be proud of. Do watch, while I go back and listen to the lovely title track.
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