Sarkaru Vaari Paata movie review: Other than signaling return of the old Mahesh Babu, this film has little going for it

Language: Telugu I’ve been wondering why all his recent films position Mahesh Babu as the outsider— an NRI, an army soldier, a sniper, etc. And I have a theory. Mahesh Babu, the star, is a reserved man who’s lived a life of privilege. Even if his fanbase is substantial, his life is a far cry from the one lived by most of his fans. As a saviour delivering a message, an outsider is the best thing an actor, who rarely gets his hands dirty in the real world, can be. While comparing  Sarkaru Vaari Paata  with Maharshi is understandable, the similarities are mere coincidences. America represents the world the star comes from. This is why it is perfectly alright that Parasuram never tries to tell us how Mahesh managed to start a finance corporation in the USA with a single rupee. America is a state of mind, a vibe.   Do not get me wrong. I don’t have an issue with “message films.” Star heroes command great viewerships, so they are the best tools in the business to dispense a message. But the film’s writer needs to understand the issue beyond the  SparkNotes  version so that it has some value and gravity. They also have to be skilful enough not to let its weight sink the whole endeavour. Parasuram has neither. While the film’s first half is light and fun, despite the cringy dialogue—apparently, following women without their knowledge is a ‘boy thing’, the second half reeks of simplistic snobbery associated with any film naive enough to pretend that it can solve a systemic issue in less than thirty minutes as its hero is strong and handsome.  

Speaking of which, Mahesh Babu as Mahesh is, indeed, strong and handsome. What’s better is the film doesn’t make a big deal of his fair skin and supposed beauty. His beauty is only discussed to point out how cumbersome it is to maintain it. The character he plays and how he plays it creates so much space for humour and subversion. He isn’t a fortress anymore. Neither his character nor his acting is indiscernible anymore. He smiles openly. He blushes like a little boy, and his dry wit is back. He covers Kalavathi’s books with brown paper. He gets down to adjust her saree. He even lets her take the lead and tickle his penny (tattoo), double entendre intended considering the film I am reviewing. The scene with Nadiya’s character and the fruits she forgets to take with her is a prime example of his dialogue delivery. A dramatic scene is easily de-escalated by just one sentence.   Kalavathi—Keerthy Suresh is capable of much more—is a spoilt brat of a woman. She lies to people and wastes her days away in a casino. Is she a gambling addict? We don’t know. What is her relationship with her father? It’s invisible is what it is. She is simply the shrew that can use some taming. Then again, I can’t blame the film for underwriting the female lead because the male lead is just as underwritten. The man’s whole personality is that he gets his money back no matter what, but then why is he misremembering the amount of money Kalavathi owes him? He slaps Kalavathi, but Parasuram is masterful in creating context to enable such behaviour. Just like he uses dowry to minimise Vijay’s bad behaviour, he counterintuitively makes Kalavathi slap a man beforehand.

But in art, whether high or low, a filmmaker can’t hide his ideology. So, let’s talk about the women in the film. Or rather, how the film treats the women in the movie. Women are rarely vital in a film like this. But notice the way he uses them. Loans are compared to women by the hero. The villain compares them to a “setup” as if they aren’t women. For the bad guy to scare someone, he has to kidnap the woman in the family. For a brute to insult a man, he has to go through the man’s wife. For the hero to deliver a dialogue conveying his power, he has to insinuate rape.

Masala cinema can go to any lengths to dehumanise women so that its predominantly male audience can feel at home. Anantha Sriram does a better job with the song ‘Kalavathi’ than the film’s writing.  

The film begins with Mahesh Babu’s character, Mahesh, as a teenager. As a young boy, who’s yet to grow up into the worldly man he eventually becomes, he asks his Math teacher (Tanikella Bharani) what ‘Sarkaru vaari paata’ means. He inaccurately answers, ‘Government decided value for you and your family.’ A math teacher unable to separate emotions from a financial transaction is a telltale sign of a confused film. Yes, like most institutions, banks are soulless. And like most institutions, they prey on the poor to facilitate the rich. The film knows this and makes it a point to talk about it via Rajendranath (Samuthirakani), a rich man treating the country like rich men do. But how does the film punish him? By writing him so poorly that all it takes for him to have a significant change of heart is a speech full of information and insight that he probably already has. Now, compare this to how the film treats bank employees, recovery agents, and the men working for Rajendranath—people who probably have their own EMIs to pay. Some are slapped, some are killed, and one gets a tea glass shoved down his throat. As a result, you get a film just as biased as the system it is trying to question. If you are someone who couldn’t smell the Nadiya twist from a mile away, this film will entertain us.  Sarkaru Vaari Paata  has nothing new to offer for the rest of us, except for a Mahesh Babu gradually coming to form.     Sarkaru Vaari Paata is playing in cinemas

Sankeertana Varma is an engineer who took a few years to realise that bringing two lovely things, movies and writing, together is as great as it sounds. Mainly writes about Telugu cinema. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.