Sopathulu Movie Review: Slow but an emotional tale of longing and friendship

3/5

Sopathulu Story

Chintu(Bhanu Prakash) and Guddu(Srujan) are two young kids who are very close to each other. They are so close that they do not compete in any issue and can die for each other. But things change when the COVID-19 lockdown is announced. Guddu's father is forced to leave the town and goes to his native due to lack of jobs. This leaves the two kids gets separated. As they are small, they cannot express their feelings properly and try hard to meet the other but to no respite. The rest of the story is whether the two friends get united in the end or not. To know the answer, stream Soptahulu on ETV Win.

Sopathulu Review

Sopathulu is written and directed by Anath Vardhan. He has taken the Covid-19 lockdown and has penned an endearing story of two kids who get separated. Though many films have been made on this backdrop, Sopthalu looks novel as the story is set amidst the friendship of two small kids. It is their emotional journey of losing a friend amidst things going worse in their family.

The director Ananth narrates the story in his own pace and sets up the conflict point in a decent manner. He does not hurry things and showcases how families were affected during the lockdown. The manner in which daily-wage labor was affected, how the givernment couldn't do much and how a poor man suffered is showcased through the stories of both kids.

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One of the best moments of the film is the longing that each kid showcases towards his firend. The manner in which Chitu tries hard to borrow his neighbours phone to call Guddu, his efforts that go in vain is showcased in a moving manner. Whenever, the pain of the kids missing each other is showcased, Sopathulu makes a lot of sense.

But the regular family scenes of financial distress have been showcased is so many films and do not move you much. There are also a lot of deviations in the film like the love story and other aspects which bore the audience to an extent. Sopathulu also sends a strong message about emotions. While a young man who saves money to become a photogrpaher, how parents ignore their kids and do not give them proper eduction, such issues have been showcased in a superb manner.

The only issue of the film is the pace. While there a few laughs, most of the proceedings are quite slow even though the film is under two hours of runtime. Also, the addition of too many characters deviates the plot a bit and side tracks the film from its right emotions.

Coming to the performances, both the child actors, Bhanu Prakash and Surjan have done a great job in their roles. Especially, Bhanu Praksh, who has done so many films in Telugu is superb in Sopathulu. The manner in which the young kids bring out some delicate emotions in a very innocent manner is so good to see on the screen. Anji Mama, Mani, and the other cast do well in their respective roles.

The camerawork showcasing the small town setup and the realistic visuals create an impact. The dialogues in the film are written with a lot of pain and heart and they superbly bring out the deep pain that the lower middle class goes through when they are pushed in deep problems like lack of jobs during Covid times. The background score is quite good and elevates the pain in the proceedings.

Though the film has crisp runtime, a few scenes in the intiial parts of the film should have been chopped. Finally, Sopathulu has the pain and emotins that strike a right balance. The performances are realistic but the pace of the film is slow and take time on you to grow.

Sopathulu Verdict

On the whole, Sopathulu is moving story of two kids who get separated during Covid lockdown. Though the film is slow, has a predictable narration and a few deviations, it can be given a shot for the strong emotions portrays by the kids that creat an impact.

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