Andhra Pradesh

A mix of satire and comedy Film Review

A la Titanic: Tabu and Abbas in a song sequence in ‘Idi Sangati’

Film: Idi Sangati

Cast: Tabu, Abbas, Raja

Direction: Chandra Siddarth

Idi Sangati is Chandra Siddarth’s effort to deconstruct a stereotype. It has a simple premise about a woman’s appetite for life and how her avarice lands her in a soup. The film apparently points towards retribution for all negative characters, namely, anything that is acquired by foul means can never beget happiness. The drama is set in a contemporary world where all people and their jobs look familiar, where things get moving only when palms are greased, whe re scribes, police and law is hand in glove to share the booty. And even kids are far too smart for their age.

This could have worked as a satire about greed but it is not sharp enough to be a satire or funny enough to be a comedy. In fact, the pace slackens so much that in the latter half one can write it off as a soap fit for small tube. The conclusion is abrupt though the message is good. The intention here is to throw light on the character of the artistes in a humourous way with the goal being a pouch of diamonds, but slowly the grip loosens and the narrative gets lethargic.

For Tabu, this role is a cakewalk and she works in tandem with the story. However, her pairing with Abbas is rather awkward from a physical point of view.

Abbas and Hema do their part well. Raja is wasted in the role of a thief and Sunil plays a loud photo journalist .

There are one or two good dialogues. The photography is good, but the music doesn’t linger.

Patanjali’s novel might have made an interesting read but the movie struggles to hold your interest as all characters look trivial . A disappointing fare.

Y. SUNITA CHOWDHARY

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