Shyam Singha Roy : how authentic love can lift us off social mire (SPOILERS INCLUDED)

How I first got to know about Shyam Singha Roy movie was when Sai Pallavi posted a story on instagram about it. The classical dance attire and she and her fellow dancers posing with Trishul was adequate to get me intrigued. I was more than excited to see Pallavi executing classical dance skills as I knew she wasn't formally trained but had full faith in her capabilities.

Then I kept a close following of the movie-updates. When I heard "Sirivennela" in Anurag Kulkarni's voice I was so thrilled! I absolutely loved his beautiful song "Kallolam" in yet another Sai Pallavi hit movie Padi Padi Leche Manasu, and this one brought such joy. When I heard that renown lyricist Sirivennela sastry garu who penned the song passed away, I mourned his loss with the whole community of writers who knew him. So thankful for teachers such as Sastry garu who have left a legacy of love for us.!

Then I heard Pranavalaya, and then Rise of Shyam, saw the final few trailers which were so intriguing, and decided then itself that this movie is a MUST watch! Who would want to miss another movie with Mickey J Meyer garu's music anyway?

A few days ago I fell horribly sick by a viral bug which left me completely physically weak in the middle of an extremely occupied week. I was just beginning to get all my to-dos of January 2022 sorted, and this happened. The most terrible thing about being physically ill and unable to fend for yourself is how much of a toll it takes on your mental health- one cannot seem to go back to one's radical positivity and battle against forebodings of pessimism, one's exhaustion tends to almost make one give up. I wanted to distract myself from the negative self-talk and wanted to watch something so numbing that my ailments and aches and pains would disappear at least temporarily. Then I remembered that SSR had been absorbed into cyber space by Netflix. The rest is history. 

To be honest, except for the story line of how Vasu- aspiring film director of the present day- connects to his past life where he was a revolutionary writer and ardently committed lover and husband to the ethereal Rosie, the first half of the movie seemed almost unnecessary. After seeing the whole movie I actually wished there was more SSR and Rosie and less Vasu and Keerthy (I honestly don't think a lead role was necessary for Keerthi's character either) . You'll know what I mean when you take a watch of this brilliant throwback-tale of SSR and the 1970s timeline. 

I was thrilled to see Leela Samson ma'am in the cast (the dancer in me almost had a navratri of my own by the components of dance in SSR) although she had nothing to do with a dancer's role. I was also quite impressed by Madonna Sebastian's role as the no nonsense lawyer. She was so accurate! And Murali Sharma garu, as always decorating the screen with his sheer brilliant acting even when it is a minor role- wah! 

The goosebumps began to rise when during his hypnosis Nani (in his intricately wow-ing acting skills) shifts personas from Vasu to Shyam. We are introduced to Vasu's past life and personality in such a dramatic manner that I'm sure if I've seen it in a theatre I would have definitely cheered with the crowds. And then we are off to the thrilling second half of the movie to discover Shyam Singha Roy. 

Absolutely loved the set - I heard it was created in Hyderabad for the movie itself!Just like I read elsewhere, one can actually see how much effort the SSR team has made to re-create the vibe of Bengal not just by color and charisma but also by the symbols and motifs strewn across the frames throwing light on allegorical representation to many aspects of Bengali culture. 

The introductory song to the unbelievably magnificent Sai Pallavi , Pranavalaya, was so beautifully photographed and choreographed respectfully by Sanu Varghese garu and Kruti Mahesh (I've been a huge fan of the latter since I first saw her in Dance India Dance more than a decade ago!) and beautifully costumized by Neeraja Kona. Kruti's dance team was astounding but one just cannot take one's eyes off Sai Pallavi, not only due to her incandescently natural beauty, but also due to the wow factor that a completely non trained dancer of classical dancing just proved that hard work brings nothing but great glory. Her adavus and mudras were so well synchronized with the others (some of the other female actors of the day needs to take example from her rather than just trying and faking it during shots). However my most favorite and endearing thing about Pranavalaya was watching Nani's expressions. So accurate! From the impressive smile towards the gorgeous devadasi he was now falling for, to the look of slight contempt as the temple priest took his seat, to pride when the audiences applauded Maitreyi's tricks with the Trishul, and to the look of query and concern as she acted out her woos during the song praying to the goddess to help her as she serves her- Nani garu has it all, and not even a tad bit of over-acting. He is such a fine actor! 

(gosh bollywood! learn from these people! so many decades and you thrive on huge bouts of over-acting and then call it best acting!) 

Throughout Shyam and Rosie (as he renames Maitreyi later on) 's story line, Sai Pallavi just steals one's heart over and over again by her sheer purity of talent and un-tainted natural beauty. I love the fact that her directors - in this specific movie, Rahul garu - don't get her covered in makeup or overtly glamorous costumes. The girl looks grand even in a pure white saree with just a hip-chain to gather the pleats, and her hair down! Her tiniest reactions are so natural , one of my favorite mili-seconds being the scene where she finds Shyam right behind her as she turns back calling his name in haste while decorating her hair with roses. Those reactions cannot be made perfect without practice. She made those small instances look amazingly natural and yet special. (Again, more Pallavi and less of others please! )

Shyam also has some powerful dialogues that writer Satyadev Janga garu has inserted for sheer social awareness and also to help the plot move forward. Without giving away too many instances, I'd like to say Shyam's stand for communism which is inherently atheist and does not tally with the conventional Indian caste and creed discrepancies, which ultimately leads to his demise, is what makes him stand out even amongst the most "normal" crowd on a "normal" day. His revolutionary ideas easily attract Maitreyi to him, but pushes him away from his two oldest brothers, unfortunately. Talking about the Singha Roy brothers, I must say that the ensemble cast includes stellar performers such as Jishu Sengupta, Rahul Ravindran, Subhaleka Sudhakar and then Manish Wadhwa as one of the symbolic antagonists. 

I particularly enjoyed the "just right" level of self-confident manliness that Nani exuded as Shyam Singha Roy. Shyam is portrayed to be a young man full of passion, revolutionary principles, as well as a soft heart towards those he loves. At one of the crucial turning points in the story line, Nani showcases his incredulity of being betrayed with an expression of perfect aghast, which reminded me slightly of veteran actor Sathyaraj garu's accurate acting in Bahubali. 

I'm a fan of Mickey J Meyer garu's music. Mukunda, Mahanati , and Happy Days in particular had some memorable songs as well as background scores worthy of reminiscence. In Shyam Singha Roy, I believe Meyer's prowess of background score was of higher elevation than the songs in particular. I honestly cannot get the haunting score of Rosie's out of my head! The moment when Rosie and Shyam parted as he left to visit his brother had one of the most heart-touching bgms of the whole movie, and so did the powerful temple-fight scene which established Shyam's no-nonsense rhetoric on society's questionable ironies. I believe strong music simply makes the movie. Even the most lukewarm narrative can blossom into something mindblowing with strong nuances of music. And SSR has one good story which was beautifully complimented by Meyer garu's bgm. I wish the songs were a tad bit more grander though. I absolutely loved Sirivennela and thought the light , sweet, loving melodic undertones of the song is so perfect, and touches all the right spots. Honestly, listening to all the songs after watching the movie having more insight in how they contribute to the narrative made much more sense; however I do wish Pranavalaya (which is as hauntingly beautiful as it is, by the way. Can't get that song out of my head!The dancer in me keeps doing "Dhim Tana Dhim Dhim Tana" in my mind on loop!) had a tad bit more edge to it, which would have made it as grand as a Keeravani garu-song! But all credit to Meyer garu for creating such emotively powerful melodies. 

It's been about 5 days since I saw SSR, and I cannot bring myself to watch any scene that contains Rosie and Shyam online due to sheer heartache. I'm still recuperating from that terrible viral-bug which knocked me down for a few days, and SSR contributed to my down-led artistic sensitivities to have a jolt of revitalization. 

Amongst the many movies which were released recently that have given a notion that women-empowerment means the woman becoming bolder in "revealing" themselves a little more (that's a topic for another day altogether. Too big to discuss here), Rahul Sankrityan assures that both his ladies are respectfully depicted in a way that their personalities are shown "bigger" than just how they look. Sai Pallavi in particular , although her character may have elements of vulnerability, exudes a very unique strength especially in her modes of communication, both verbally and through her expressive dance-moments. 

I had one small question about the elements of performance as narrated by Vasu, at the beginning of the movie. He claims "aharyam" to be "body language", when any dancer or linguist would know that "aharyam" denotes ornaments or elements of decorum. That's a question for writers Janga garu and Rahul garu to consider. 

Overall, SSR is a movie that no wonder has already made waves across the globe both in theatres and on Netflix due to its originality in demonstration . What you will take away from watching the movie is a new sense of questioning default norms of society which unfortunately still prevail at certain parts of our society, a sense of appreciation towards ethnic art, and a sense of relief of knowing that in a world such as authentic artists such as Nani and Sai Pallavi live, there's always going to be a lot of hope for genuine innovations and unadulterated finesse in art. 

Love  to  have a glimpse of period-romance with a twist? Craving for some sexism-free entertainment splashed with ample doses of revolutionary fervor of sentiment? Don't miss Shyam Singha Roy. You'll fall in love , and be filled with hope again. 

© Anu Madhubhashinie 

#wordswithanu 

Image Courtesy: FilmiBeat.com