‘Santhana Praptirasthu’ movie review: An uneven social drama with a few silver linings

However, films dealing with such topics often face the same problem: a claustrophobic narrative that begins and ends with the stigma, with little else to say. Santhana Praptirasthu, starring Vikranth and Chandini Chowdary, almost falls into this pattern, but thankfully director Sanjeev Reddy recognises the importance of giving the story an identity beyond the fertility issue.

Santhana Praptirasthu does not flash its sexual health-awareness placard from the word go. Its primary focus is on the interpersonal relationships among its three pivotal characters, Chaitanya (Vikranth), Kalyani (Chandini Chowdary), and Eshwar Rao (Muralidhar Goud), eventually leading to its core conflict that is not solely restricted to a man’s sexual anxiety issues.

A decent hook is in place to unravel the trajectories of these three characters through a casteist goon named Jack Reddy (Tharun Bhascker), who is in the mood to listen to Chaitanya’s love story. Having lost his parents early in life, with only a sister as family, Chaitanya is in search of companionship and falls for Kalyani, who is preparing for government job exams.

A generic boy-meets-girl romance ensues. Chaitanya is an average IT employee who would go to any length for love. A typical do-gooder situation seals the relationship between the lead couple. However, Chaitanya and Kalyani’s father (Eshwar Rao) are constantly at loggerheads, placing Kalyani in an awkward position, caught between the two men.

The drama intensifies as the couple struggles to have a child. Frustrations bottle up, tempers flare. Despite its not-so-novel premise, Santhana Praptirasthu moves along smoothly, sticking to basics. The breeziness notwithstanding, the fluff is minimal, and by intermission, you are fairly clear about what the key characters stand for.

However, undoing a nearly neat start in one stroke is an insensitive stretch post-interval. Suddenly, Chaitanya keeps uttering lines like “I need to get her pregnant in 100 days”. A comedy track involving Dr Bhramaram at a wellness clinic becomes an excuse for jokes with sexual innuendos. There are tasteless references to yogasanas that boost male libido.

Several metaphors are employed to discuss his virility — fuel in a vehicle, charging a power bank, and so on. Bhramaram rattles off a list of reasons to explain why men are failing at something they are supposed to perform effortlessly. Provocative dialogues tie masculinity to fatherhood, while inconsequential scenes, like a reunion party where the wife gets jealous, or a random drunkard intruding on the couple’s home, add to the chaos.

The workplace sequences revolving around Chaitanya’s sperm count are hardly funny. The film also goes too far in vilifying the girl’s father. The final half-hour, however, regains some momentum, shifting focus to Kalyani’s conflicting emotions and why she deserves to be heard amid two men trying to overpower her with their version of love, without truly understanding her wants.

Still, the attempt to view the situation through a female lens feels like an afterthought, a desperate bid to score brownie points. The writing is too uneven and inconsistent. Sunil Kashyap’s music doesn’t leave much of an impression either. Vikranth has improved since Spark, but his performance remains too detached to strike an emotional chord.

Chandini Chowdary is elegant, composed, and expressive enough to let the character’s pain resonate despite the inadequacies in writing. Muralidhar Goud delivers the goods, though a certain redundancy is creeping into his performances due to repetitive roles. 

Tharun Bhascker is terrific in an extended cameo, while some of Abhinav Gomatam’s gags work. Vennela Kishore’s mannerisms and retorts feel slightly repetitive, while Anil Geela and Jeevan Reddy pass muster.

The final lines in Santhana Praptirasthu drive home an important point. Despite being the most populous nation on the planet, India is also a place where fertility clinics mushroom at every corner, with the pressure of parenthood weighing heavily upon couples. 

The film succumbs to clichés as much as it tries to challenge them. With tighter writing and sharper editing, its ideas could have landed far better.

(The film is currently running in theatres)