Vivek deviates from the 'Angry Young Man' trope in two interesting ways— Surya faces consequences for his actions, and is not presented as a holier-than-thou figure who is simply misunderstood.
Published Oct 20, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 20, 2024 | 9:00 AM
'Saripodhaa Sanivaaram' reinvents the Angry Young Man. (Supplied)
The “Angry Young Man” trope of the 1970s has evolved over time. From a working-class “Angry Young Man” in Salim-Javed’s films, to the present-day affluent “Angry Young Man”, the concept of a hero has changed in Indian cinema.
Similarly in Telugu films too, from showing Chiranjeevi as a factory worker, who fights for the rights of workers in his early films, to a faction leader in the early 2000s, the idea of an “Angry Young Man” has changed significantly.
Javed Akhtar, the man behind the famous trope, in an interview with Indian Express, said the difference between his “Angry Young Man”, and today’s is the former’s anger was based on deep hurt, but in the latter, there is only anger. He also emphasised that in the 70s angry young men fought against feudalism and other social evils.
The recent addition to this trope is Vivek Athreya’s Saripodhaa Sanivaaram. In which, Nani plays the role of a middle-class boy, who struggles with his anger issues. However, with the help of his mother, he promises to confine his anger to just one day—Sanivaaram (Saturday).
The challenges this promise presents and his tussle with Dayanand (SJ Suryah), a corrupt police officer sets the premise of this film.
While Nani’s Surya tilts more on the side of the 70’s “Angry Young Man” with the addition of saving the mistreated people of Sokulapalem, he can not be confined to a set trope.
However, Vivek Athreya is known for his complex screenplays which often merit a second look. Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is no different, telling a cinematically sound story with a lot of thought put into it.
Nani in ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’. (X)
Vivek Athreya establishes early on that Surya and Dayanand are different despite being similarly destructive. He demonstrates this difference right from their homes in a smart use of space.
Surya lives in a house surrounded by loved ones and has a social life where people value him, Daya lives alone in a poorly built hut, isolated from the rest of the society. This indicates that both these characters are foils to each other.
Despite having different reasons for their anger, both Surya and Daya utilise violence as the solution. They are both destructively rageful, only on different magnitudes and moral scales.
However, Vivek deviates from the “Angry Young Man” trope in two interesting ways. First, Surya faces consequences for his actions. What sounds commonsensical, is often a missing element from a majority of Telugu films today.
Second, Surya is not presented as a holier-than-thou figure who is misunderstood. Charulatha (Priyanka Mohan), the female lead, calls Surya out on his shortsighted solutions, showing him he needs to change. Again, a character arc for the protagonist, a unitary writing element that’s amiss in numerous action-driven films today.
That is where we see Surya and Daya differ, they turn from two ends of a horseshoe, where they are similarly aggressive, to two ends of a line.
The prominent, prevalent theme of the entire movie circles primarily around rage. Vivek Athreya fleshed out the various nuances of rage effectively.
A poster of the film ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’. (X)
In Charulathatha, aka Kalyani, Surya’s long-lost cousin, you get the only pacifist in the story, an antithesis to the rest of the characters who express their anger in some way or the other.
Bhadra, Surya’s sister, demonstrates rage in frustration and pride. Tired of her brother’s antics, she decides to cut ties with the family, going as far as to keep them in the dark regarding her pregnancy.
Even after the siblings reunite, she remains angry at Surya, only expressing affection coldly. It is only towards the end of the film that she lets go of the anger, with her love overpowering rage, again a recurring theme in Saripodhaa Sanivaaram.
Similarly, Sankaram, Surya’s father also demonstrates love. But he personifies the recurring theme in the film: love overpowers anger. He says as much when trying to find a solution for Surya’s anger issues.
Despite facing physical harm, and having to estrange himself from his daughter, Sankaram’s love for Surya subsides his anger towards his son
Interestingly, Charulatha (Kalyani) aside, all three members of Surya’s family are named to reflect anger. Surya (the fiery sun), Sankaram ( the Hindu deity Siva, known for his anger), and Bhadra (the Hindu deity Bhadrakaali, also known for her anger). Notably, Dayanand is named to reflect someone merciful, ironically contrasting his tyrannical and rageful personality.
Surya with the red scarf. (X)
Surya, the embodiment of the “Angry Young Man” trope, is a middle-class boy who cannot tolerate social injustice.
However, unlike the movies of yore, where the hero solves the problems through violence, Surya has to accept the fact that it won’t work.
“So what are you going to do? Beat Daya up? Then another officer will come and mistreat Sokulapalem,” Charulatha explains to Surya. This is the moment that makes Surya introspect a different approach to the problem of Sokulapalem.
Early on in the film, Surya, in the customary hero’s entry, thrashes a bunch of goons. However, this hedonic violent approach simply causes more problems than it solves for Surya.
Hence, it shows growth on Surya’s part to renounce his violent tendencies to approach the issue of Sokulapalem
Similar to Sankaram, Surya too learns to let love overpower rage as he finds himself less angry as the connection between both the characters grows.
Nani’s performance of Surya convinces you of his compartmentalised anger. Robert de Niro once said that an actor doesn’t have an endless amount of choices while playing a character. They only have a couple of choices based on the kind of life the character lives. Nani effectively expresses Surya as a separate entity from the actor, which works greatly for the audience’s immersion.
Sokulapalem, the area of the primary conflict in the story, greets the audience with still shots of people looking into the camera in a dynamic background. The images that Vivek presents in this introduction set the tone of the lives in Sokulapalem, being discriminated against despite their honest living.
A still from the film. (X)
The images are almost reminiscent of Walter Salle’s 2004 The Motorcycle Diaries, based on Che Guevara’s life. Wherein Salles uses the haunting black and white images to punctuate the memory of Native Americans etched in Che’s mind, Vivek seems to use them to tell us about their lives.
The community, which has criminal ancestors, faces prejudice from most people. Even Surya is initially suspicious of them, only forgoing his apprehensions after spending time with them. The only person in the entire film who treats them without judgment right off the bat is Charulatha.
Throughout the film, we witness the people of Sokulapalem live in submission. They are too afraid to speak up, not just for each other but also for themselves. Surya and Charulatha, hence decide to first empower Sokulapalem before “helping” it.
Therefore, they choose to make them believe that one among them stood up to the tyrannical Daya. However, even when this farce falls through, Surya’s fortitude inspires the people of Sokulapalem to revolt. They finally stand up for themselves in a moment of self-driven resistance, showing Surya he succeeded in empowering them.
This too is brilliantly showcased when, Daya following a hit to the head, hallucinates seeing all of Sokulapalem donning a red scarf, symbolic of Surya’s vigilantism. It communicates that a united resistance doesn’t need a Surya to swoop in as a saviour, it can free people from their shackles.
SJ Surya does what he does best. He plays the character with enough exaggerated conviction to not appear hammy. Playing a loud and violent CI who torments the people of Sokulapalem mindlessly, SJ Suryah does not draw away from Daya despite his distinct dialogue delivery.
Playing the big bad guy, he misuses his power to play judge, jury, and executioner of Sokulapalem, making his unforgiving violence a reason to actually feel nervous.
However, the character in his rage often loses his rationality, something SJ Suryah portrays effectively. A one-dimensional villain as he is, the violent nature of the character and Suryah’s performance, leave an impression beyond the theatre as well.
The entire film is doused in occasional bursts of red, a colour symbolic of rage. Right from the scarf that Surya chooses to don every time he gets angry to the colour of the atmosphere at important moments, red, is inescapable, like Surya’s rage.
Priyanka Mohan in ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’. (X)
The only moment where the red transforms is before the interval. As Charulatha is coming to terms with the fact that Surya does indeed have a violent side to him, there is a mix of green (symbolic of peace) with red, representing how Charulatha is now seeing Surya in his entirety.
The same message is also clear through Jake Bejoy’s score, where Surya’s fight before the interval is accompanied by a fusion piece borrowing elements from Indian classical music and the hero’s massive tune.
Bejoy’s music accentuates the film well, having enjoyable but immemorable tunes. Where he shines, is the soundtrack. Especially, the track “Unchained,” invokes a hopeful superhero kind of music, something that assists Surya’s character, emphasizing his change from mindless to rage to righteous rage.
Similarly, a breath of fresh air is the romance between Charulatha and Surya. It is not magical or unrealistic. Rather, like in Vivek’s previous film, Ante Sundaraniki (2022), it presents a realistic romance. It is believable when we see Surya and Charulatha flirt with each other, not feeling overly cheesy.
The moment she confirms her affection for Surya, a little girl snatches away the red balloons heading towards him. A sly representation of Surya’s anger issues rescinding to the background.
Charulatha too, faces challenges at home vying for her mother’s approval of Surya. She is not presented as a passive player in the plot. She is actively scheming with Surya to save Sokulapalem, even at a personal risk and is unafraid to call out Surya’s narrow-minded approach to the problem.
When Charulatha uncovers that Surya hid his violent tendencies from her, her questioning the nature of her affection for the protagonist rounds her up as a well-written character independent of the protagonist.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
