Suhas and Keerty Suresh

Director Ani I. V Sasi flips the concept of the famous Telugu poem on its head by saying everyone is equally important. Keerthy Suresh trying her hand at slapstick comedy is rather annoying in the beginning portions however the national award winner comes into her own as the movie progress. Her dynamics with Suhas gives the movie some of its best moments

Starcast: Keerthy Suresh, Suhas, Babu Mohan, Talluri Rameshwari and others

Genre: Comedy

Director: Ani I.V Sasi

Screenplay: Vasanth Mariganti

Cinematography: Divakar Mani

Music: Sweekar Agasthi

Producer: Radhika Lavu

Production Company: Ellanar Private Limited

Running time: 2 hours and 15 minutes

Streaming site: Amazon Prime

In terms of tonal structure both Shubham and Uppu Kappurambu have a distinct similarity, the use of screwball humor in addressing the respective social issues. This brand of farcical humor can take a while getting used to however both the movies are successful in getting the message across.

Uppu Kappurambu begins with Rana Ragubbati’s hilarious voice over perfectly setting the stage for the following outlandish scenarios. The broad storyline of Uppu Kappurambu focuses on Keerthy Suresh’s Apoorva. A young woman thrown into a tumultuous situation following the death of her father and village head Subbaraju (Subhalekha Sudhakar). Keeping up with the village tradition Apoorva takes over her father’s position. Babu Mohan and Shatru play Bheemaya and Madhababu respectively. They openly scoff at the very thought of a woman sarpanch and that too a naive young girl. Suhas plays the graveyard caretaker Chinna taking over his father’s position. In an odd turn of events Chinna realizes that the graveyard is running out of space to bury the dead. This leads to a lot of chaotic situations.

A major strength of Uppu Kappurambu is the dynamics between Apoorva and Chinna. The growing friendship between them as the two race against time gives some wonderful moments. There is an emotional poignancy to their conversations like the portion where Suhas reminisces about their school days talking about the huge disparity in their lives. Mention must also be made of Suhas’s retort to a man ridiculing Chitti Jayapuram having a female village head. He critiques the narrow mindset by mentioning about his village having a female deity, then what is so wrong about Chitti Jayapuram having a female head. The scenes of Suhas speaking to the dead as if they are long lost friends also make an impact.

Suhas is simply top notch moving the viewers with his heartfelt act. Keerthy Suresh on the other hand feels like a fish out of water in the initial moments however the actress does a very fine job in showcasing Apoorva’s transformation. From the initial nervousness to a more confident approach Keerty makes the viewers root for Apoorva.

Another ace of Uppu Kappurambu is the political aspect specifically the upper caste men wanting to exercise control over the graveyard. Through the characters of both Mohan Babu and Shatru the director has successfully brought about the angle of caste disparities. On the surface the village may give an impression on treating the dead with equal dignity however the truth is something else. This is amply clear in the portion where a character believes that his clan deserves the utmost space in the graveyard based on the long lineage.

Apart from the caste disparities Uppu Kappurambu also dwells into the themes of communal division, misogyny and the resistance to change. All these have come out well particularly in the movie’s later half where things start to get more coherent.

Apart from Suhas and Keerthy Suresh the supporting cast comprising of Babu Mohan, Shatru and Talluri Rameshwari also do well in their respective parts. Among the technical aspects Divakar Mani does a fine job in capturing both the village atmosphere and the eccentricities through his lens.

Among the flaws the movie’s screwball tone takes a while getting used, the humor in the beginning is also a hit and miss. An elongated sequence with Keerty using dramatic gestures to whip up a frenzy doesn’t elicit much chuckles. Similarly the sequences involving a village drunkard only add to the run time instead of adding anything substantial.

Final word: Uppu Kappurambu is worth watching if you are in the mood for something whimsical with a social message.