Sakka Podu Podu Raja Review: No purpose, forced comedy, tiring to watch

Santhanam’s most awaited Sakka Podu Podu Raja (SPPR) is out!

With the star cast and a lot of waiting time for the release of a Santhanam movie, SPPR definitely had people expecting a lot.

In particular, since Santhanam has been shaping up as a hero with in-built comedy trait, his movies have been in the tabs.

He has also tried his hands on a horror comedy and it turned out to be convincing.

So did SPPR deliver what’s expected?

Well, sadly, the answer is a big no!

The movie, from the start to end, is a template that we had run over numerous number of times already!

And to be very honest, the movie doesn’t add anything new – at all!

Let’s forget the story and screenplay for a moment – and talk about Santhanam.

He has worked hard on improving his physique, dialogue delivery, expressions, dance, fights and what not!

His determination to shine as a hero clearly has pushed him to work hard and we can see his hard work on screen.

Sadly though, the movie doesn’t go with his performance and hard work.

Santhanam plays Santa, and instead of being a casual guy Santhanam’s characterization is rather artificial.

VTV Ganesh plays Santa’s father and does his job neatly. Robo Shankar and Vivek have a good screen presence and their comedy is somewhat convincing compared to the rest!

To show the casual, good at heart and helping traits of the hero, we have a scene in the very beginning where Santa helps a girl elope with his boy friend.

We then have Santa come across a girl whom he loves at first sight (what else did you expect?), and then, of course we have the villain, played by Sampath.

Villain is neither villainous nor comedic. As a villain, his characterization is so diluted and doesn’t deliver the required impact.

There are a few sequences in the movie that could have been used best to create thrill as well as comedy – but sadly they too get diluted in the template.

Screenplay is so weak and it fails to keep the audience engaged.

The comedy in the movie is so outdated (read template) and most of the time ends up giving us headache instead of kindling laughter.

Overall, SPPR is a let down, given the expectation and the popular names appearing on screen.

The star cast includes Vivek, VTV Ganesh, Powerstar Srinivasan, Sampath, Robo Shankar – but still there’s so much void.