Sabari Review - Only Varalaxmi Sarathkumar shines in this middling psychological thriller

2.5/5

Sabari Story

Sanjana (Varalaxmi Sarathkumar) is a single parent who lives with her five-year-old daughter, Riya (Baby Krithika). After struggling to find a small job, Sanjana learns a shocking aspect of her daughter's life. As if this were not enough, Surya (Mime Gopi), who runs away from a mental asylum, is after her daughter. The basic story of the film is how a single mother faces such dire consequences and how she saves her daughter.

Sabari Review

Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, who is known to play hard-hitting villain roles in Telugu cinema, plays a doting mother for the first time in her career in Sabari. The film is about a single mother fighting demons in and out of her life. The film starts off well, with the basic subplots being explained by the director, Anil Kaltz.

The manner in which Varalaxmi suffers from demons within her gives an idea that Sabari is going to be a psychological thriller. The way the basic backdrop of the thriller is set up looks good in the film. Also, the pre-interval sequences create a lot of curiosity for the audience.

But things fall apart in the second half of Sabari. There are so many subplots that are not handled properly. Varalaxmi Sarathkumar is shown to have a psychological disorder, and this is not established properly. Hence, one gets a lot of doubts about how she changes tracks in the course of the film. But things falter in the second half, as all the tracks showcased do not make any sense.

Also Read: Varalaxmi Sarathkumar interview - 'Sabari will showcase me in a completely shocking new avatar' (ottplay.com)

Also, the baby-swapping aspect has already been showcased in multiple films in the last few years. So, the bankable factor of the film is the major twist that is unleashed in the latter part, and it looks decent. Apart from this, if the emotional angle in the film was handled in a gripping manner, things would have made a lot of difference.

In terms of performances, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar is the backbone of the film and carries the film on her shoulders. With this film, it is once again proven that Varalaxmi is a versatile actor and can portray any given role. The manner in which Varalaxmi portrays her crucial role in the film is one of the biggest assets of the film.

Mime Gopi gets a key role, but one feels that he goes a bit overboard in his role, which creates an irritating factor for the audience. Ganesh Venkatraman is seen in a cameo, and he is okay. Shashank plays a lawyer in the film, and his supporting role is decent and brings depth to the film.

The production values of Sabari are decent, and the camerawork showcases the thrills in a decent manner. Director Anil Kaltz has penned the story, and his idea is neat, but his execution could have been a lot better. But that does not happen, as his screenplay is dull and does not arrest you. The music by Gopi Sundar is decent but his BGM was a lot better.  

The so-called thrills in the film are not mind-blowing, and the key emotions also go for a toss. One gets the feeling that a good story is let down by some mediocre direction. After the first half, one gets the feeling that Sabari will hold you with its twists and emotions, but sadly, that does not happen, making Sabari a half-baked thriller.

Sabari Verdict

On the whole, Sabari has a great premise and a memorable performance by Varalaxmi Sarathkumar. The first half is lovely, but the second half falls flat, making Sabari a below-average watch this weekend.

Also Read: Anil Kaltz interview - Sabari is a moving thriller that will arrest everyone with its emotions (ottplay.com)

Watch the best of South cinema on ZEE5, aha, ManoramaMAX, SunNXT and 250+ live TV channels with OTTplay Premium subscription of the Simply South pack that includes 19 streaming platforms at just ₹75 for the first month, using the code OTTORG75