Kiran Abbavaram's Sammathame is a haphazardly mounted film that fails to appeal. The story, plot, screenplay, and characterisation are all sketchily crafted and the outcome is a boring and tedious affair. There is hardly anything that elevates the viewing experience.
The film tells the story of Krishna (Kiran Abbavaram), who believes that a family will prosper only if there is a woman to look after the house. He wants to get married because his mother passed away while he was too young. In the process, he bumps into Saanvi (Chandini Chowdary) and ends up in a self-inflicted conflict. How he overcomes it is the essence of the film.
With an impressive star cast, Sammathame starts off with promise, but gradually the assurance crumbles. The story unfolds at a deliberate pace and the narration fails to build a solid set-up. The second-hour indulgences in a romance angle and the plot loses focus. Despite its shorter run time, the film seems bloated and it tests your patience. The narrative drags with forced drama and an unrealistic plot that is treated like a fantasy.
Director Gopinath Reddy's story touches upon themes that are significant and critical, but it's a pity that the film doesn't make its point hard enough. The film fails to realise its potential because the screenplay is often contrived, convenient, and at times hopelessly idealistic.
The characters lack depth and there is no chemistry between the lead pair, although they are attractive onscreen. The humour, injected by way of some witty lines as well as the situational comedy, doesn’t work as the writing lacks gravitas. Krishna is shown as an unblemished character, who expects his future wife to not have any relationships in the past. That’s not all, he gives morality lessons, rattles gyan about behaviour and dressing style. But he cannot fathom that others should also have the freedom to live life on their own terms. Despite his bizarre behaviour, Saanvi begins to love him. And how? The problem is the film’s sloppy handling of the very issue it claims to address.
The director gets his lead pair right but doesn’t etch out any of the other character arcs convincingly. Even talented actors like Gopraju Ramana, Sapthagiri, and Siva Narayana can’t salvage this amateurishly crafted saga. The climax seems rushed and convenient and we're never fully satisfied with the resolution of the lead pair's issues. The songs integrate into the narrative, but the background score is underwhelming.
Ultimately, the film is let down by an imperfect script and its inability to deliver solid entertainment. All we expected from Sammathame was a well-made emotional drama, but what we are left with is this mess of a moral science lesson.