And that's one of the themes of Nani's latest movie Shyam Singha Roy. The film begins with an ambitious filmmaker, Vasu (Nani), who quit a well-paying software job to strive for a passion for filmmaking. To get funding for your film, he must first show his talent to his potential producer by making a short film.
And the short film of Vasu has not come down yet because he has not found the right actor to fill the shoes of his female hero. As if, he offers a chance at Kirtha (Krithi Shetti) who is not an actor. She has been hanging out with her friends at the coffee shop recently. But, Vasu sees his heroine in her and convinces her wholeheartedly. He is a boy who takes nothing for granted. He stalks her. And before this becomes a frightening and indictment crime, Kirthee agrees to work in his film. He gently blackmailed her into the deal.
During creation, Kiri is harassed in public places. And of course, Vasu fights goons. And during the battle, he hit the back of the head and suddenly he became the left hand. It seems that this was an important moment in the story as it seems that hitting the head has brought out the memories of his previous life. But, then we will find out otherwise. He has been living in his past memories for some time now. This is the first time we have a glimpse of another man living in Vasu's head.
And conveniently, Kiri is pursuing a master's degree in psychology, which means she has access to a smart-linking psychology professor who knows hypnosis. It’s hard to understand how characters suffering from this multifaceted personality disorder in their films always relate to psychology students? Remember, Ambi and his daughter crush Nandini in Annian? You see my point. Why not Keyworth Major in English literature? Or some other subject? Why should this always be psychology? She could be a student without psychology and still be able to take the recovery to a psychologist.
Like Amby, Vasu has also been hypnotized, and with him we enter a chapter in his mind containing the story of Shyam Lion Roy. The film jumps to the beginning of the practice of untouchability and caste segregation in Bengal in the late 1960s. It is no longer gone, but at least social reformers like Shyam would have hoped by 2021 that people would not yet cling to the pride of their race. Unfortunately, most of us still are.
Shyam is a hard-core communist and believed that the pen was more powerful than a rifle when it came time to spread one's ideology. As he was about to catch Horah's train, he saw Mithiri (a wonderful Saai Pallvi), Devadasi. Another form of slavery and exploitation that we see in the film.
The film is not the main opponent but the inequality in society, which is the breeding ground for all social and humanitarian crises. For example, honor killings happen because some people think they are more special and sacred than others. Inequality is at the heart of this social evil. Women close to divinity also deserve sexual exploitation because some men think they are just second to God. And so Shyam's opponents are not Megalomaniac Godman or village people who believe in the caste system. But, the ideology that creates inequality. And as they say, ideas are bulletproof. And bad ideas can only be tackled by educating people and building self-esteem.
To the credit of director-author Rahul Sankriton, the protagonist of the film lives and fights through the pen instead of resorting to violence. The duration of the film is the eye for the eye. The retro look of Nani and Sai Pallvi was charming. Introducing Pallvi’s classical dance in the Red Surrey is a scene. Only her presence on the screen elevates one view to another. Duration set pieces are minimal but effective. And night shots under the moonlight are soothing.
I wondered how this film dealt with the issue of honor killings. Usually, when we hear these words by default in movies, we consider a woman to be his victim. But, we rarely associate a man who is a victim of this evil. Rahul’s bold move about the generous use of Bengali dialogue in the film is also noteworthy. Teligu subtitles appear when the characters speak Bengali. But, if you can’t read Telugu, you have enough hints on the screen to keep the story going.