In Sundarakanda, Siddharth (Nara Rohith) faces a fundamental problem common to most middle-aged protagonists in Telugu film novels. His parents worry that their aging son may never get married, while the typical man-child won’t agree to a girl unless she meets his specific requirements. However, star Nara Rohith gives the idea a cheeky little twist and playfully subverts it.
The title of the film is a throwback to Venkatesh’s 1992 hit of the same name, and there are enough thematic similarities between the two to make a clear connection. While the former showcased an unconventional equation between a male teacher and a feisty student, the 2025 film is a tale of a man who turns teacher to woo his lady love (creepy, yes), tackling the age issue with tongue-in-cheek humor.
Corporate worker Siddharth is on a break. He is planning to leave for the US and wants to clear some “past” tasks and possibly find himself a girl. The main issues that hinder his goals are his fixation on his childhood sweetheart and his unrealistic expectations that his next partner will fulfill a silly checklist. When the girl finally meets his criteria, Destiny hands him a raw twist.
Sundarakanda (Telugu)
Directed by: Venkatesh Nimmalapudi
Cast: Nara Rohith, Virtue Vaghani, Sridevi Vijaykumar
Duration: 140 minutes
Story: A middle-aged man falls for a college girl and tries hard to save himself from embarrassment.
But the self-deprecating humor surrounding Siddhartha’s age and his strange expectations of a girl, which provide some room for comedy, has false alarms throughout. While it’s hard to expect political correctness in a romance between a man, probably in his late 30s, and a college girl, the film glorifies Siddhartha’s desperation too far. All’s fair in love and war, I suppose.
After meeting a “sympathetic” girl, Eira (Virti Vaghani) at the airport, he goes to great lengths to find her, even searching for her name in discarded coffee cups in dustbins all over the city, and avoiding attending a friend’s wedding altogether in his “search.” When he finally finds Eira, he becomes a tutor. She resists his advances, but like your average Joe in Telugu cinema, he is persistent (read stalking).
The film finds its groove only after a break, where Siddharth descends into the soup, trying to hide a secret that could jeopardize his relationship with Eira. The writing is interesting; some of the potentially random moments at the beginning of the film are contextualized later. It questions Siddharth’s choices, connects them to the conflicts in Eira’s home, and has the viewer hooked.
The story’s central theme – the generation gap between couples and the idea that a romantic connection could transcend barriers – is not entirely new; you’ve seen shades of Yash Chopra’s Lamhe (1991) and Naga Shaurya’s Dikkulu Choodaku Ramayya (2014). Like a typical “family-friendly” rom-com, the climax features long dialogues leading to resolution, and the happy ending feels reasonably satisfying.
It’s the blatantly inconsequential moments and self-conscious one-liners that work. Siddhartha’s mother (Rupa Lakshmi), a Korean serial addict who has more or less given up on her son’s love life, is terrific. The father (played by Naresh), who consistently digs up Siddhartha’s childhood sweetheart, provides a laugh or two. However, if there’s anyone who single-handedly saves the film, it’s Satya.
Satya is more or less used to smooth out the awkwardness of the premise and does a great job. He represents the viewer’s frustration as Siddharth relentlessly continues his efforts, enhancing many of the bland sequences with his physicality and verbal sense of humor. The energetic Sunaina gives him tremendous company, while Vasuki is quite good as Siddharth’s on-screen sister.
Like many of Nara Rohith’s films over the years, Sundarakanda is problematic – it has an interesting idea but turns out to be an inconsistent film. His static screen presence remains a problem; his performance, be it in emotional scenes or dance sequences, fails to impress. The indifference makes it difficult to care about his character.
One of the film’s most effective casting choices has to be Sridevi Vijayakumar, who pulls off two roles over the years – as the cute high school girl and the gorgeous mother – with absolute panache. She carries her part with grace, handles the drama with sensitivity and looks like a strong second innings performer (unless she gets tipCast). Virtu Vaghani has an appealing personality, but Eira is a bit too smart for her age. VTV Ganesh’s dialogue delivery is a test of patience.
Director Venkatesham Nimmalapudi has a clever premise, though the treatment is a mixed bag. It errs on too many counts to be a light, memorable film with a quirky concept. It tends to over-philosophize everything; some of the subplots don’t make sense, the songs (by Leon James) are too frequent, and there are silly action sequences.
The USP of Sundarakanda is its humor, and that might be your only reason to watch it.
(Sundarakanda is running in theaters)
Published – August 27, 2025 01:52 PM IST
