Sabari : A mother’s fight to save her daughter from a madman
Female centric movies have their own takers and a majority belong to the thriller genre. This week’s release ‘Sabari’ stars Varalakshmi Sarathkumar in the lead playing a desperate single mother out to save her little daughter from evil forces. Has the film hit the right chords remains to be seen.
‘Sabari’ begins with a madman welding a hammer chasing a woman Sanjana (Varalakshmi Sarathkumar) in the woods and hacking her. Later it is revealed that she is separated from her husband Arvind (Ganesh Venkatraman) and has relocated to Vizag with her little daughter Riya (Baby Niveksha) in search of a job. After settling in a secluded house in a hilly area Sanjana is shocked to learn that the madman Soorya (Mime Gopi) is after her as Riya is in fact his child. How is Riya Soorya’s daughter? Is Soorya real or a figment of imagination? Who is the real culprit behind all the trouble the mother and daughter face is what the rest of the film is all about.
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar is a perfect fit for the role of Sanjana that has scope to bring her acting prowess to the fore. She is good in the emotional scenes as well as performing the action in the climax. Mime Gopi is menacing as the psychopathic killer on the prowl and the twist about him being dead and returning to life works. Ganesh Venkatraman as the ambitious husband and Shashank as the loyal friend of the heroine are the other players in the cast.
What works best in ‘Sabari’ is the mystery as to who Soorya is and why he is hunting Sanjana. The twist about the house and Soorya’s death are the ones that hit the mark among the many other twists. The film tries to throw in supernatural and psychological angles in the mix that help in moving the story forward. The heroine herself has a mental condition that throws the investigation in a different perspective.
On the downside the film takes too long to arrive at the core story and only gets back on track rather a wee bit late. The pacing is lacklustre and one can say that the potential of the plot has not been explored beyond the surface. No effort has been put in to plug the logical loopholes.
Gopi Sundar’s music and BGM has elevated some of the thrilling episodes of the film. Likewise the visuals and production values are good. Maha Movies has bankrolled the project in multiple languages including the original Telugu and Tamil.. Director Anil Katz has set out to tell the story of a strong woman who goes all out to save her non biological daughter from evil clutches. Better writing could have made the proceedings more engaging.
Verdict : Go for it if you fancy female centric psychological thrillers with it own twists and turns.
