Baruvu thagginchu (reduce your weight), an elderly man tells Sundaram (Harsha Chemudu), who enters the remote village of Miriyalametta that has not seen an outsider in about 90 years. The casting of Harsha as Sundaram master is spot on for director Kalyan Krishna’s indie-style Telugu film, Sundaram Master, produced by actor Ravi Teja. Actors like Harsha are often subject to body shaming in narratives that are not sensitive or politically correct. This film turns the physical attributes of weight and skin colour on its head to narrate a heart-warming, fable-like story. Not everything about Sundaram Master hits the sweet spot. Some stretches call for some patient viewing but towards the end, the director ties up the different threads beautifully and hopes we leave with a smile and introspect about how we live.
It takes conviction to make a film like Sundaram Master, moving away from mainstream trappings. On paper, it must have looked like a story that a grandparent would narrate, with leaps of imagination, and ultimately arriving at a few lessons for life. Kalyan Santhosh dresses up such a story with some humour and a little else. Even a song (Sricharan Pakala’s background score and the song has a tinge of magic to it) comes only towards the fag end, as though giving into the mood of Sundaram and the villagers.