‘Sundarakanda’ movie  review: Nara Rohith’s romcom is a mixed bag

In Sundarakanda, Siddharth (Nara Rohith) faces a quintessential problem common to most middle-aged protagonists in Telugu cinema’s romcoms. The parents are worried that their ageing son may never get married, while the typical man-child will not agree to a girl unless she matches his specific requirements. However, the Nara Rohith starrer gives this idea a cheeky little twist and playfully subverts it.

The film’s title is a throwback to Venkatesh’s 1992 hit by the same name, and there is enough thematic similarity between the two to establish a clear connection. While the former featured an unconventional equation between a male teacher and a feisty student, the 2025 film is a tale of a man who turns a teacher to woo his lady love (creepy, yes), tackling ageism with tongue-in-cheek humour.

Siddharth, a corporate employee, is on a break. He plans to leave for the US and wants to clear some ‘past’ errands, and possibly find a girl for himself. The primary issues impeding his aims are his fixation on a childhood sweetheart and his unrealistic expectations for his future partner to fulfil a silly checklist. When a girl finally meets his criteria, destiny hands him a crude twist.

But for the self-deprecating humour around Siddharth’s age and his strange expectations from a girl, which provides some room for comedy, there are false alarms all along. Though it is hard to expect political correctness in a romance between a man possibly in his late 30s and a college-going girl, the film glorifies Siddharth’s desperation too far. Everything is supposedly fair in love and war.

After meeting a ‘compassionate’ girl, Eira (Virti Vaghani) at an airport, he goes to great lengths to find her, even searching her name in discarded coffee cups in dustbins across the city, and avoids attending a friend’s marriage altogether in his ‘quest’. When he finally finds Eira, he becomes a lecturer. She resists his advances, but, like your average Joe in Telugu cinema, he is persistent (read stalking).

The film finds its groove only post intermission, where Siddharth lands in a soup, struggling to conceal a secret that could jeopardise his relationship with Eira. The writing is interesting; some of the potentially casual moments in the early part of the film are contextualised later. It questions Siddharth’s choices, relates them to conflicts within Eira’s home and has a viewer hooked.

The core issue of the story — the generation gap between the couple and the idea that a romantic connection could transcend barriers — is not entirely new; you see shades of Yash Chopra’s Lamhe (1991) and Naga Shaurya’s Dikkulu Choodaku Ramayya (2014). Like a typical ‘family-friendly’ rom-com, there are lengthy dialogues in the climax leading to the resolution, and the happy ending feels reasonably satisfying.

It’s the apparently insignificant moments and self-aware one-liners that work. Siddharth’s mother (Rupa Lakshmi), a Korean series addict who has more or less given up on her son’s love life, is a hoot. The father (played by Naresh), who consistently takes a dig at Siddharth’s childhood sweetheart, provides a laugh or two. Yet, if there’s anyone who singlehandedly salvages the film, it’s Satya.

Satya is more or less used to even out the awkwardness in the premise and does an excellent job. He represents the viewer’s frustration as Siddharth goes about his endeavours relentlessly, improvising many a bland sequence with his physicality and verbal sense of humour. An energetic Sunaina offers him formidable company, while Vasuki is reasonably good as Siddharth’s on-screen sister.

Like many Nara Rohith films over the years, Sundarakanda has an issue — it has an interesting idea, but turns out to be an inconsistent film. His static screen presence continues to be a problem; his performance, be it in the emotional scenes or dance sequences, do not land. The indifference makes it quite difficult to care for his character.

One of the film’s most effective casting choices has to be Sridevi Vijayakumar, who pulls off two looks over the years — as the cute high school girl and a gorgeous mum — with absolute panache. She carries her part with grace, handles the drama with sensitivity and looks set for a strong second innings (provided she doesn’t get typecast). Virti Vaghani has an appealing persona, but Eira is a little too wise for her age. VTV Ganesh’s dialogue delivery is a patience tester.

Director Venkatesh Nimmalapudi has a smart premise, though the treatment is a mixed bag. It errs on way too many occasions to be a light, memorable film with a quirky concept. It tends to over-philosophise everything; a few subplots don’t make sense, the songs (by Leon James) surface too frequently and there are silly action sequences.

Sundarakanda’s USP is its humour, and it could be your only reason to watch it.

(Sundarakanda is running in theatres)