Sing Geetham Review: Singeetham Srinivasa Rao's Audacious Musical Experiment Is A Celebration Of Cinema

At the age of 94, most filmmakers have retired, passed the baton to younger counterparts and remained mentors in the background. However, Telugu director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao is not your run-of-the-mill filmmaker who wants to sit and reminisce about a legendary career - he returned to wield the megaphone after 13 years to make a musical fantasy that bucks current trends in cinema.

Sing Geetham, a play on the director's name, stars newcomers Ayaan, Ahilya Bamroo and Shalini Kondepudi as the leads and is a musical experiment in Indian cinema. Music in this film is not meant to be enjoyed as a background score; it becomes the raison d'être for the film itself.

The story revolves around a small mining village called Kuberapuram, which survives thanks to the Kuberan Gold Mine owned by Renu (Shalini Kondepudi) and her father. One day, a young man named Pratap (Ayaan) arrives in the village, having been hired by Renu to impersonate someone else named Pratap, incidentally, and co-sign a contract selling the mine for Rs 100 crore to a Nigerian businessman.

In this endeavour a series of events unfold that begin with tree-hugger Gauri (Ahilya Bamroo), who believes that the single, lonely tree left in the barren land that is her village is her mother. When the tree is cut down, a heartbroken Gauri cries out to their village deity Kuberan about the injustice meted out by Renu and the villagers in their greed for gold. Meanwhile, a penniless Pratap, who has an intriguing identity of his own, is caught between his ambition to make money and his desire to do what is right for the village. What follows is a simple story that explores themes such as greed, identity and hope, told in a highly imaginative fashion that blends folklore and social commentary.

At the outset, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao's musical fantasy is not just novel for Telugu cinema but for Indian cinema itself at this juncture. While Indian films predominantly feature song-and-dance routines, in Sing Geetham the dialogues themselves dissolve into song, which makes it feel refreshing and captivating. The fact that the 94-year-old director conceived this concept and blended it with a simple story shows his creativity and spunk even at this age - he is still willing to push the boundaries of cinema and give the audience something unexpected.

Does the entire film work? Not completely, but that's quite okay. The pacing suffers in some parts, especially in the first half, when the musical element goes on for too long. It can test the audience's patience as, instead of building atmosphere, it meanders between characters unnecessarily. However, the second half picks up pace and finds its feet. The director uses emotion to tell his story at every step, and post-interval the emotional backstory of the village and its people, and what they must do to remove the ills plaguing Kuberapuram, provide beautiful moments on screen.

In Sing Geetham, the hero is its music, and thus music director Devi Sri Prasad earns most of the laurels for this film. His ability to write music for dialogues and ensure the lines between characters proceed seamlessly - to the beats and rhythm - is no small task, and he has pulled it off effortlessly. The cast comprises all newcomers, and they do well in roles that demand they sing their dialogues and emote. Technically, the film is competent - the visuals and production design convincingly showcase this small mining village, though the VFX falters in places.

Sing Geetham is neither a tentpole film nor a star-driven mass entertainer; it is a small, quaint musical fantasy by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, who is still chasing his dreams and unconventional ideas at 94. Watch it to celebrate his continued passion for cinema and Devi Sri Prasad's musical genius.