Gurthunda Seethakalam review: A sensible but superficial coming-of-age story about love and relationships

Young hero Satyadev, who has been building his career graph with diverse roles, came up with a romantic drama — Gurthunda Seethakalam — this Friday, 9 December.

Seasoned heroine Tamannah Bhatia teamed up with Satyadev for the first time, thus raising curiosity about this project.

The film was promoted as a romantic entertainer. Has this interesting combination worked? Let’s check it out.

Gurthunda Seethakalam is the story of the struggles of Dev (Satyadev) with love and relationships, and how he transforms from an innocent, playful boy into a mature, responsible man.

After failed attempts at finding a girlfriend during his school days, Dev manages to find one in Amrutha (Kavya Shetty) during his college days.

He leaves no stone unturned to keep the relationship with Amrutha going despite several difficulties.

He matures from a college student to a working professional. In the process, he learns the importance of relationships, money, and career.

Getting further into the story, how the relationship with Amrutha impacts Dev, and how and what role Nidhi (Tamannah) plays in his life form the main plot of the movie.

Slow narration, shallow treatment

Gurthunda Seethakalam is a remake of the Kannada hit film Love Mocktail. While director Nagashekar chose a sensible story, he faltered in its narration and treatment.

Heart-touching stories like these, which deal with memories and emotions, work only when the audience connects with the roles.

For that, the characterisation of the lead roles has to be strong and the narration has to be engaging.

Though a good one, the movie fails to engage the audience in these aspects.

Instead of feeling the pain of the characters, the audience waits for the movie to get over.

Satyadev, Tamannah impress

Satyadev, who is emerging as a versatile actor, essays the role of a romantic and family-oriented person in this flick.

This role is different from what he did in his previous projects and adds up to his list of good performances.

Tamannah plays the romantic partner of Satyadev and has different shades in her character. This is a different role even for the actor.

Kavya Shetty is impressive as Satyadev’s girlfriend. Priyadarshi and anchor Harshini are adorable as Satyadev’s friends.

Senior actress Suhasini also appears towards the end of the movie.

Cinematography, music complement the story

Satya Hegde handled the cinematography for Gurthunda Seethakalam. He makes the whole movie look scenic and beautiful.

Kaala Bhairava complemented the story well with his music. Though there aren’t any memorable songs, the background score is fine.

Senior editor Kotagiri Venkateshwara Rao should have trimmed the movie further.

#GurthundaSeethakalam is all yours. Thank you for all the unconditional love. pic.twitter.com/HyokEYi6TS

— Satya Dev (@ActorSatyaDev) December 9, 2022

Final take

The film is a coming-of-age story about love and relationships.

While Satyadev does a good job transforming from an innocent and playful boy into a responsible man, shallow treatment and slow place play prove to be the killjoys.