Soppana Sundari review: A decent comedy-drama that entertains despite its drawbacks

Director SG Charles’ Soppana Sundari is a comedy caper that, despite its drawbacks and lapses in logic, manages to entertain. The plot is refreshingly new and primarily revolves around three women and a car.

Agalya (Aishwarya Rajesh), a girl from a lower-middle-class family, wins a car worth ₹10 lakhs in a lucky draw competition conducted by a popular jewellery store.

The prize comes across as a pleasant surprise to not just the street-smart woman but also her glib-tongued mother Lakshmi (Deepa) and her speech-impaired sister (Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli).

However, their happiness is short-lived as within a day or two of receiving the car, her brother Durai (Karunakaran) returns to claim the car for himself. Durai abandons the family after getting married to the sister of a scheming manipulator called ‘Danger’ Mama (Mime Gopi).

Durai contends that he bought the jewels from the store and hence the store gave them a coupon to participate in the draw in the first place.

Agalya, for her part, claims that the car belongs to her as she filled in the coupon and put it in the draw (Durai is illiterate). Also, she recalls that in a bid to mock her and her mother, Durai throws the coupon at her. Therefore, he no longer could stake claim to the coupon or the car they had won through it.

The fight between both parties — Agalya, her mom and her sister on one side and Durai, his wife and his brother-in-law on the other — turns physical and violent.

Eventually, the neighbours call the police who seize the car and haul it to the police station.

At the station, Inspector Kannan (Sunil Reddy) is a lecherous character looking to exploit vulnerable women.

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Initially, when he thinks that this is an open and shut case, he looks to award the car to Agalya’s family. But, when he realises that her brother is the one who bought the jewels, he asks him to produce the bill to claim the car.

Agalya thinks all is lost until the time she realises that her brother does not have the receipt as he did not buy the jewels for himself but for another person. Both sides get down to employing different strategies to outwit the other and claim the car for themselves.

Does Agalya manage to outwit her brother and his scheming brother-in-law to reclaim her car? How does she teach the cop lusting after her a lesson? Soppana Sundari answers all these questions and more.

#TamilNewYear just got better with #SoppanaSundari‘s release TOMORROW! 🤩 Experience a 2 hour rollercoaster ride filled with fun, joy, and a meaningful ending! ♥️@Hamsinient @HueboxStudios @aishu_dil @SGCharles2 @Ajmal__Tahseen @deepa_iyer_ @vithurs_ #ahimsaentertainment pic.twitter.com/1JaLrIBHBf

— Ahimsa Entertainment (@ahimsafilms) April 13, 2023

What works?

Soppana Sundari works primarily because of its actors, all of whom have a great sense of comedy timing.

In particular, Aishwarya Rajesh (who plays Agalya) scores handsomely. She comes across as being funny in comedy sequences, sharp in sequences where she has to score over her opponents and savage while dealing with sexual predators.

Karunakaran as her brother and Mime Gopi as his brother-in-law also deliver commendable performances which make the film an engaging affair.

But Redin Kingsley as Dijith who poses as the original owner of the jewellery steals the limelight in the comedy sequences.

Kingsley appears for only a brief but he brings down the house with laughter.

Deepa as Aishwarya’s mom, too, is funny and adds to the entertainment quotient.

Checkout this new Sneak Peek from our #SoppanaSundari movie ft. @aishu_dil #Deepa #Karunakaran @mimegopi & @KingsleyReddin 😁😂

👉 https://t.co/1Qmqe7QSDe #SoppanaSundariFrom14April 👸💃 @LakshmiPriyaaC @SGCharles2 @Composer_Vishal @Ajmal__Tahseen @HueboxStudios… pic.twitter.com/DGBsBfFH9n

— Hamsini Entertainment (@Hamsinient) April 10, 2023

What doesn’t work?

Soppana Sundari is funny in parts but this does not make it a great film for there are factors that work against it as well.

Firstly, there are gaping holes in the plot’s logic.

When a firm conducts a lucky draw or competition for the public, the standard norm is that it prohibits its employees and those working in sister concerns from participating in the competition.

This is to retain the faith of the public in the competition and also to address fairness concerns.

However, in Soppana Sundari, Aishwarya Rajesh, who is shown as an employee of the firm announcing the lucky draw, is not only allowed to participate in the draw but also has no recollection of having participated in it when the company calls to inform her that she won the prize!

This apart, in the name of humour, the movie has sequences that are crude and highly despicable.

For instance, there is a sequence where Aishwarya’s mother is shown attempting to sell the kidney of her bedridden husband for ₹1 lakh in a hospital.

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While both her daughters get to know what their mother has done, the speech-impaired elder daughter fumes and tries to tell her mother that there are other organs of her bedridden father that she can sell to make more money.

Agalya, for her part, yells at her mother and runs into the hospital – not to save her helpless dad but to return with a sum that is thrice the amount her mother had originally bargained the kidney for!

Ironically, all this is presented as humour in the film.

Verdict

Soppana Sundari is entertaining but only if you can forgive its lapses in logic and some of its humour sequences that are demeaning in nature.

(Views expressed are personal.)