Movie - Saakshyam
Starring - Bellamkonda Sreenivas, Pooja Hegde, Jagapathi Babu, Sarath Kumar, Meena and Others
Banner - Abhishek Pictures
Written by - Sriwass and Sai Madhav Burra (dialogues)
Music Director - Harshavardhan
Cinematographer - Arthur A. Wilson
Producer - Abhishek Nama
Director : Sriwass
Touted be an action fantasy thriller, 'Saakshyam' starring Bellamkonda Sreenivas and Pooja Hegde hit the screens today on July 27th. Written and directed by Sriwass, Sai Madhav Burra worked in penning the dialogues for this first ever movie based upon five elements of nature. Under Abhishek Pictures, Abhishek Nama bankrolled this project.
Harshavardhan Rameshwar scored the music for this film. Arthur A. Wilson did the cinematography and Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao did the editing works. Bellamkonda Sreenivas whose previous outing 'Jaya Janaki Nayaka' failed to rake good numbers, made a statement that 'Saakshyam' is like a mini Baahubali. Let's see whether this 'Mini Baahubali' impressed the audience or not.
Story:
The movie is kick-started with a massacre caused by Jagapathi Babu who kills an entire family leaving a toddler who is miraculously saved by a cow. The toddler grew up to be Vishwa, son of a multimillionaire but works as a video game designer. Just like in the trailer, the entire first half hints that nature will be the witness even though all the proofs are buried and karma always finds a way to hit back. Cut to Dubai, Vishwa meets Soundarya (Pooja Hegde) and instantly falls in love with her. To woo her, he follows her to a village where the toddler's family is buried. How he avenged his family's death by taking the help of the only witness, nature forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Bellamkonda Sreenivas became one of the biggest plus points for this film and showed a lot of maturity in terms of acting and expressions when compared to his previous movies. He sure did a lot of hard work in improving himself to be a good actor. Pooja Hegde never fails to impress the audience with her captivating beauty and Saakshyam movie definitely showed her even more beautiful. Senior actors Jagapathi Babu, Sarath Kumar and Meena have performed excellently well. Ashutosh Rana, Ravi Kishan, and Madhu Guruswamy not only played strong characters but also justified their roles. Vennela Kishore, Rao Ramesh, Bramhaji, Sameer and Pavitra Lokesh acted nicely.
Technical aspects:
As his previous outing tanked at the box office, there were some speculations whether Sriwass can live up to the expectations or not. He not only reached the expectations but went beyond them. Even though there are no previous references about the concept he chose, Sriwass handled it well like a pro. His narration is simply amazing.
The VFX works give an eye feast for the audience. Sai Madhav Burra embedded some powerful dialogues. The visuals by cinematographer Arthur A. Wilson are topnotch. The production values by Abhishek Nama are good. Harshavardhan Rameshwar's music is nice. Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao's editing is worth appreciating.
Verdict :
The first half is a little bit intriguing and good. However, the pace fell down in the second half and some pointless scenes annoyed the audience. However, the stunning grand visuals come to rescue. The light comedy and romantic track in the first half are entertaining.
The second half is full of action and the visuals give an eye feast for the viewers. The music by Harshavardhan Rameshwar made it more comfortable to watch. The scene with the backdrop of Varanasi is excellent and should not be missed.
Despite having a long runtime, the director explored a new concept and executed it in a gripping way which makes 'Saakshyam' a worth watching film.
Filmybuzz.com Rating - 3.5/5
