BOTTOM LINE
Effective In Parts
OUR RATING
2.25/5
CENSOR
‘U’Certified, 2h 21m.
What Is the Film About?
Panchathantram is an anthology tale featuring five different individuals and their worlds. A retired employee planning to turn writer highlights them by linking their stories to five different senses sound, smell, taste, sight and touch.
Performances
Brahmanandam appears in a movie after a long gap. He doesn’t play a comic role here and does a casual looking serioius supporting role that appears in parts. He is a welcome presence whenever appearing on the screen eventhough there are no heavy duty emotions.
Much like Brahmanandam, the actors withs some experience are the one who make an impact. Every gets that one or two emotional moments that makes it easy to register. Samuthirakani, Uttej, Vikas Muppala, Divya Sripada, Shivathmika and Swathi easily score with the better written scenes and blocks.
Shivathmika’s dialogue on the marriage work out more than her act whereas Vikas and Divya do in emotionally charged drama. Swathi Reddy and Adarsh Balakrishna easily work out the required drama with their settled and intense act. Maybe, its the oong gap or simply the reality, Swathi appears a bit aged after a gap. Samuthirakani, and Uttej gets a compelling role which he does with all the earnest.
Among the rest, Naresh Agastya and Rahul Vijay are okay in in their roles. They could have done better with a little bit more depth in their parts and also writing.
Analysis
Harsha Pulipaka writes and directs Panchathantram. It is an anthology movie with a unique idea involving the senses.
In the past few years, anthology films have been a made dime a dozen. It is, therefore, imperative that one has something unique within the setting. Panchathantram has been successful in getting that core idea right related to the sense. How they are highlighted via the stories is the key here.
The first short is about sound. The basic problem with Panchathantram is also reflected here. While ‘sound’ indeed finds resonance here, the overpowering emotion here is a sense of nostalgia and of small stories here. The beach, which leads to the sound, ultimately leads to the stories diluting the theme. The acting and writing, too, are alright at best.
The second short deals with taste, and it comes with the setting of arranged marriages. There is definitely a better connection between the two points here. The dialogues linking marriage with sports and how it’s a game are neatly put forth. They are relatable and connect. It does take time to get to that point, and register, though.
The third one is about the smell, and things start to get better from here. The short also perfectly works for the interval block. But, more importantly, there is a right union between the theme and the story at hand. The actors make it more effective than the writing or the actual content at hand.
Touch is the basis for the fourth short. It plays a critical role in the story, and one can literally feel it. However, the story has an unevenness as the drama escalates only in parts.
And finally, sight is the best of the lot in pushing the right emotional buttons. It starts on a shaky note going through the business world mambo jumbo, but things get better as it progresses. The message hits hard towards the end, even though it’s a tad predictable, and one can see it coming.
Overall, Panchathantram coming up with a unique idea gets better as it progresses. But, the impact is present only in parts. None of the short work entirely, and that’s where the issue lies. If you like short, compelling dramas with a different theme, do give it a try but have the expectations a little under check.
Music and Other Departments?
Shravan Bharadwaj and Prashant R Vihari provide the music. They go well with the flow and try to enhance the stories emotionally. The background score, too, goes along the same lines, although nothing stands out. Raj K Nalli’s cinematography is okay. The frames are clear but lack a poetic touch. Garry BH’s editing is neat. The deliberately slow pace and still moments don’t have the necessary impact. The writing is good in parts across all the shorts. A consistency of the same level throughout would have elevated the anthology further.
Highlights?
Two Shorts
Writing In Parts
Compelling Drama
Drawbacks?
Slow Pace
Predictability
Weak Execution
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, In Parts
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, But With Slight Reservations
Panchathantram Movie Review by M9News
