Saripodhaa Sanivaaram

Saripodhaa Sanivaaram
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Vivek Athreya
Written by	Vivek Athreya
Produced by	D. V. V. Danayya
Starring	Nani S. J. Suryah Priyanka Mohan
Cinematography	Murali G.
Edited by	Karthika Srinivas
Music by	Jakes Bejoy
Production company	DVV Entertainment
Distributed by	Sri Venkateswara Creations
Release date	29 August 2024 (2024-08-29)
Running time	175 minutes
Country	India
Language	Telugu
Budget	₹55 crore
Box office	₹100 crore

Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (transl. Is Saturday Not Enough) is a 2024 Indian Telugu-language vigilante action thriller film written & directed by Vivek Athreya and produced by D. V. V. Danayya under DVV Entertainment. The film stars Nani, S. J. Suryah and Priyanka Mohan, alongside Abhirami Gopikumar, Aditi Balan, P. Sai Kumar, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Murali Sharma and Ajay Ghosh. The film follows Surya, who fights injustices on Saturday and ends up clashing with Daya, a corrupt and sadistic cop.

The film was officially announced in October 2023 under the tentative title Nani 31, as it is the actor's 31st film as a lead actor, and the official title was announced a few days later. Principal photography commenced the following month. It was shot in several legs, predominantly in Hyderabad. The music was composed by Jakes Bejoy, while cinematography and editing were handled by Murali G. and Karthika Srinivas. Made on a production budget of ₹55 crore, it is the most expensive film of Nani's career.

Saripodhaa Sanivaaram released worldwide on 29 August 2024 to mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, praising Athreya's direction and screenplay, Bejoy's music, the cast performances, action sequences, cinematography, and production values, but criticized the runtime.

Plot

Surya, an insurance agent at NLIC, struggles with significant anger issues. In his childhood, Surya's mother Chayadevi made him promise to channel his anger only on a specific day each week. Surya chose Saturday as it was the day Chayadevi passed away. Surya keeps a journal in which he records the names and offenses of those who upset him, reviewing it each Saturday. Surya only acts on his anger if he still feels justified in doing so; if he chooses to act, he can only do until 11:59pm on Saturdays.

Surya's violent tendencies are challenged by his father Sankaram and his sister Bhadra. Surya, in his childhood, harboured feelings for his cousin Kalyani, whom he affectionately calls Kallu. However, Kallu moved away with her mother Prabhavati to escape from her abusive, alcoholic father Seethayya and assumed a new identity. Surya's anger leads to a conflict at Bhadra's wedding, resulting in her severing all ties with him and taking a job as a teacher at a school. This infuriates Sankaram, who takes it upon himself to warn Surya's enemies on Saturdays as Surya has a habit of sparing those he cannot harm on that day in honour of Chayadevi.

Years later, Kallu, under the name Charulatha, returns to the city and takes the job as a PC at the Sokulapalem police station. CI Dayanand "Daya" harbours resentment towards the local residents as he believes that they played a role in his brother Koormanand's victory in the local corporator elections. Sokulapalem has a history of crime, leading to systemic oppression of its residents, even though they don't engage in illegal activities. Whenever Koormanand pressures Daya about his property, which is in litigation and requires his signature to be sold, Daya retaliates by randomly arresting people from Sokulapalem, fabricating charges and inflicting police brutality to relieve his frustration. Charulatha discreetly assists the community in small ways, gaining their trust.

Surya discovers Daya when the latter harasses an elderly woman on a court's premises. While Charulatha watches, Surya distracts Daya by throwing petrol under his car to make it look like a leak, allowing the woman to escape. Charulatha befriends Surya and soon notices that someone is targeting her aggressors on Saturdays, including Daya’s assistant and confidant SI Sudhakar "Sudha". Charulatha confides in Surya, suggesting that the Saturday guy could pose a threat to him as well, hinting at her feelings. As their relationship develops, Sankaram advises Surya to come clean about being the Saturday vigilante, warning that if Charulatha hears it from someone else, she might feel betrayed. When Daya attacks a family in Sokulapalem after being insulted by Koormanand, Surya takes them to the hospital. Charulatha arrives and hopes the Saturday guy will also take on Daya. Surya reveals that he is the Saturday guy, promising to take responsibility for Sokulapalem.

Charulatha discovers that Daya and Sudha plan to assassinate Koormanand at a temple on Thursday morning as attempting to do so in the evening would be pointless since Koormanand would be at a pub surrounded by many people. In response, Surya invites Koormanand to an NLIC event as the chief guest, postponing the attack to Saturday. On Saturday morning as Charulatha drives Daya to the temple, Sankaram sedates Surya with sleeping pills after learning about his plans from his journal and fearing for his safety. While Surya lies unconscious, Charulatha disrupts the scheme at the temple and Daya plans an assault at the pub that evening. Meanwhile, some of Surya's old enemies attack his family while Bhadra, now pregnant, visits them.

Although Surya manages to save his family and Koormanand from Daya in time, Bhadra demands that he abandon his Saturday rule if their relationship is to continue. Surya agrees and resolves his issues with Bhadra's in-laws. Daya, seriously injured in the attack, continues to search for the Saturday vigilante. Meanwhile, the residents of Sokulapalem are left wondering who among them attacked Daya, unaware that it was Surya, who had previously written on a wall that one of their own would strike Daya on Saturday. Surya pretends to be attacked and files a complaint at the Sokulapalem police station, claiming that the Saturday vigilante assaulted him.

Daya, now in Koormanand's good graces under the false impression that Daya was at the pub to protect him, is also searching for the Saturday guy, whom he believes is the assassin. Daya befriends Surya and continuously presents potential suspects from the community. Despite Surya's denials, Daya and Koormanand escalate their aggression, attacking everyone in Sokulapalem and warning them to bring back any workers, who have migrated within the next two days. The residents decide to protect the Saturday guy from Daya, boosting Surya's confidence that they can stand against Daya on their own.

On the following Saturday night, Daya and Sudha connect the dots and realize that Charulatha was behind the thwarted attack at the temple as she was the only one aware of it. Daya concludes that she is allied with the Saturday vigilante and identifies Surya as the Saturday vigilante as Charulatha saved his contact as Bottle Cap on her phone. Koormanand retrieves the pub's CCTV footage and discovers that Daya actually intended to kill him. Before Koormanand can act, Daya shoots and kills him and frames the Saturday guy from Sokulapalem, prompting Koormanand's henchmen to attack the neighbourhood. While Bhadra is in labour and hospitalized, Daya calls Surya to reveal his findings and that he is taking Charulatha to Sokulapalem. Surya rushes to Charulatha's house, learns her true identity as Kallu and arrives at Sokulapalem, where he finds her injured and the terrified residents.

Daya challenges anyone from the community to confront him if they want to save Charulatha, but no one responds. Sankaram arrives and urges Daya to reconsider, reminding him that he has always been protected by those connected to Surya, including the people of Sokulapalem, from Surya’s attacks. Charulatha recognizes Sankaram, which reveals Surya’s true identity to her and she gets impressed by the shift in his attitude towards violence. Sankaram explains that Bhadra learnt about the situation and deemed Surya's anger justified, allowing him to act for that day, as per their mother's words. Daya insists that someone from Sokulapalem must oppose him for Surya to unleash his anger, where he attempts to strike a child. When a resident retaliates, Surya steps in and thrashes Daya. The people of Sokulapalem rise against Koormanand's henchmen. The next morning, Govardhan, having obtained Koormanand's CCTV footage, kills Daya and Sudha. Surya and Charulatha get married, while Bhadra gives birth to a daughter.

Cast

• Nani as Surya "Chinnu", an NLIC agent
  • Ruthvik Varma as young Surya
• S. J. Suryah as CI R. Dayanand "Daya"
• Priyanka Mohan as PC Charulatha "Charu"/Kalyani "Kallu"
• Abhirami Gopikumar as Chayadevi, Surya and Bhadra's mother
• Aditi Balan as Bhadra, Surya's elder sister
• P. Sai Kumar as Sankaram, Surya and Bhadra's father
• Murali Sharma as Koormanand, Daya's brother
• Ajay as Govardhan, Koormanand's right-hand man
• Jhansi as Vasudha, a therapist
• Supreeth as Kaali, Narayana Prabha's son
• Ajay Ghosh as Narayana Prabha
• Subhalekha Sudhakar as HC Kamalakar N.
• Harsha Vardhan as SI Sudhakar
• Ali as Surya's boss
• Sivaji Raja as a villager
• Satya Prakash as Seethayya, Chayadevi's brother and Kallu's father
• Anitha Chowdary as Prabhavati, Kallu's mother
• Vishnu Oi as Surya's friend
• Jeevan Kumar as Koormanand's assistant
• Vamsi Chaganti as Santhosh, Bhadra's husband and Surya's brother-in-law
• Vadlamani Srinivas as Santhosh's father
• Harsh Roshan as Faazil
• Aruna Bhikshu as a car driver
• Vinay Mahadev as Narayana Prabha's henchmen
• Prudhvi Raj Palaparthi

Production

Development

In late May 2023, Vivek Athreya and Nani were reported to be collaborating after Ante Sundaraniki, which marks Nani's 31st film in a leading role. On 21 October, the project was officially announced by DVV Entertainment, tentatively titled Nani31. The title, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram was revealed on 23 October 2023. A muhurtam pooja ceremony was held on 24 October 2023 in Hyderabad with the film's cast and crew.

Casting

In October 2023, Priyanka Mohan and S. J. Suryah joined the cast, with the former collaborating with Nani for the second time after Nani's Gang Leader. G. V. Prakash Kumar and Anirudh Ravichander were considered for the film's music composer, but Jakes Bejoy, Murali G and Karthika Srinivas were announced as music composer, cinematographer and editor respectively.

Filming

Principal photography commenced in November 2023 in Hyderabad. The first schedule was wrapped up later that same month. The second schedule commenced in late December 2023.

Music

Main article: Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (soundtrack)

The music and background score was composed by Jakes Bejoy in his maiden collaboration with Nani and Athreya. The 12-song soundtrack had lyrics written by Sanapati Bharadwaj Patrudu, Sanare, Krishna Kanth and Karthik Sachin, and was preceded by three singles—"Garam Garam", "Ullasam" and "Sa Ri Ma Pa"— before the full album released by Sony Music India on 25 August 2024.

Release

Theatrical

Saripodhaa Sanivaaram was released on 29 August 2024 in Telugu along with its dubbed versions in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada titled Surya's Saturday.

Home media

The film's post-theatrical digital streaming rights were acquired by Netflix for a cost of ₹45 crore, while Zee Telugu has acquired the satellite rights. The film was premiered on Netflix from 26 September 2024.

Reception

Critical reception

Goutham. S of Pinkvilla gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is a thoroughly action-packed film. The movie takes on the challenge of redefining the standards of violent cinema by incorporating elements that are more appealing to the masses." Avinash Ramachandran of The Indian Express gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Nani and Vivek Athreya's second collaboration has all the highs of the quintessential mass masala entertainer, but it also comes with its fair share of lows."

Balakrishna Ganeshan of The News Minute gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is largely a well-written film. Every scene and character is relevant to the story. Each time you try to predict the plot, Athreya cleverly surprises you by widening the canvas." Janani. K of India Today gave 3/5 stars and wrote "With 'Saripodhaa Sanivaaram', Nani and director Vivek Athreya have a winner in their hands."

The Hans India gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Saripodhaa Sanivaaram" is a well-executed action drama that succeeds in delivering powerful performances and a gripping narrative. While the film’s pacing could have been improved, the strong performances by Nani and SJ Suryah, along with the compelling story, make it a worthwhile watch." Sashidhar Adivi of Times Now gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is a watchable vigilante action drama that has been made as a semi-comedy."

BVS Prakash of Deccan Chronicle gave 2/5 stars and wrote "it [the film] turns out to be disappointing fare due to wafer-thin plot and dreary narration and eventually, the much-hyped action film goes for a toss, although it has its share of good moments." Manoj Kumar R of Desimartini gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Vivek Athreya attempts to create a quintessential Telugu action drama but seems to falter in a genre that doesn’t play to his strengths."

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote "Director Vivek Athreya’s fine writing makes ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’ a nuanced action drama, accentuated by performances of Nani and SJ Suryah." Pratyusha Sista of Telangana Today wrote "Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is a complete entertainer. With its engaging story, strong performances, and well-executed direction, it is a film that keeps the audience hooked from start to finish."

Box office

Saripodhaa Sanivaaram earned over ₹6 crore in India and ₹19.75 crore worldwide on its opening day. The film grossed ₹100 crore at the box office.

External links

• Saripodhaa Sanivaaram at IMDb