Thaindian News

By V.S. Rajapur
Film: “Sandalwood Guru”; Director: Manas; Cast: Manas, Akshatha Shetty, Sathya Venkatesh, Chiranjeevi; Music: James Architect; Rating: *

The artists and technicians associated with “Sandalwood Guru” who hail from different backgrounds were expected to offer something totally different from the usual cliched formulaic films. But what you get to see is a movie that lacks creativity.

Director Manas, who also plays the lead role, displays a casual attitude in filmmaking. His own performance illustrates his lack of vision. One might as well say that watching this film is a waste of time.

Many of the film’s dialogues are in English and the sequence that introduces the hero to the audience seems mismatched with the movie’s concept.

The story and screenplay written by Manas also don’t make much sense.

In the film, Guru, the protagonist who works for a channel, wants to achieve something in life. He meets a girl called Maya but he doesn’t want to reveal his identity. Then the story suddenly moves into flashback - going back to the hero’s previous birth where we see him engaged in a sword fight with the villain. In his earlier birth too, he was in love with Maya.

With this, the audience is suddenly made to feel that it is a story about reincarnation…but even then we see the lead characters mouthing English dialogues, leaving audiences utterly confused.

Simply put, the movie lacks clarity.

The film’s technical work is bad, including the lighting and camera. The film’s music does serve some purpose — it helps awaken viewers from their boredom.

Akshatha Shetty is a newcomer and her inexperience is clearly visible on-screen. Sathya, who plays the villain’s character, could also have done better.

The film isn’t worth a watch and it actually doesn’t deserve even one star.