Crime might not be funny, but at times, when a person is facing a lot of dilemmas, it has tremendous potential to be a laugh riot. Suni picks on this aspect of life with Sakath and creates situations, which are intense, but cleverly turns them around into sequences that result in chuckles and guffaws.
A courtroom drama, the film is a sincere experiment and effortlessly blends a triangular love story, crime drama, and a situational comedy into a commercial entertainer. Beginning with a song tribute to Puneeth Rajkumar, Suni, who wanted to avoid any kind of controversies post-release intelligently plugs in many disclaimers.
The entire story revolves around Baalu (Ganesh), who aspires to become a singer like SP Balasubramanyam since childhood. Unfortunately, he loses his parents and ends up growing up around an orchestra run by Sadhu (Sadhu Kokila). His romance with anchor Mayuri (Surbhi) manages to get him into a singing competition. The makers of the reality show, looking for TRP, take advantage by claiming him to be visually impaired, which becomes one part of the story. However, an accident in the vicinity puts Baalu in a spot, and the turning point is when he becomes a witness to a crime.
Reality bites when Baalu enters Drishti school, a school for the blind, and joins as a singing teacher. How the children and a blind teacher (Nishvika) change Baalu’s perspective about the visually impaired, and how the crime unravels is narrated with twists and turns. Except for a few repeated scenes, the film relies on the second half where the director pulls off his tricks and succeeds.
Suni has managed the right casting with Ganesh, who has come up with a different character. He puts up a genuine performance in Sakath. Nishvika too gives an impressive performance, and good support comes from Surbhi. The humour sequences featuring Sadhu Kokila, Giri, Kuri Pratap, Dharmanna, and Rangayana Raghu work to the film’s advantage. Actor Uthpal has a small role to play, but he has a very strong presence in the film. Sakath also marks Ganesh’s son Vihaan’s big screen debut, who appears in a special role. Music by Judah Sandy is melodious and goes along with the story.
Despite the long runtime, the whodunit courtroom drama, which is a solid creative work by the writer in Suni, definitely makes for a new and interesting genre for the audience.
Sakath
Cast: Ganesh, Nishvika, Surbhi, Sadhu Kokila, Rangayana Raghu, and Malavika Avinash
Director: Suni
Rating: 3.5/5