The title of the movie Sita suggests a pivotal role for a woman, and a story revolving around her. After a few minutes of watching Sita (Kajal Aggarwal) hysterically yelling at everyone, in a petulant manner, you expect the movie to be a transformation story. But, that her transformation comes in the form of Ram (Srinivas), a naive, innocent man - traumatised by Sita's mom in his childhood - disappoints you.
In the end, the movie is not half as much about Sita as it is about Ram, his kindness, his good-heartedness, his sense of justice. Ram is also supernaturally smart, a man who could finish a book on India's legal system in just a few hours and count 97 pins in a stack at one glance. Ram knows 26 languages, none of which he speaks really, and yet, doesn't know anything about the ways of the world, and needs tea and butter biscuits at 10:30 am failing which, he behaves like an obstinate little kid himself.
Kajal's Sita is self-centered, dreaming of constructing a mall, for which she signs the deal with the devil, Basavaraju (Sonu Sood). As a quid pro quo arrangement with him, she accepts a one-month live-in relationship in return for his might in helping her out with the construction of her mall. Basavaraju, irked by her nonchalant refusal to respect the agreement, pursues her in every way possible way till the end of the movie, while Sita discovers herself through Ram - her paternal aunt's daughter and the heir to her dad's property.
In Sita, director Teja tries to mix up too many ideas, leaving the audience with not much to do but yawn at the absurdness of it all. The movie tries to be quirky at times, thanks largely to Sonu Sood's comedic villain done to perfection, aided by his candid mentor in the movie, played by Tanikella Bharani. But quirky is funny only when the movie doesn't take itself seriously. But, when it starts to applaud and exult in the niceness of an innocent man - brought up in distant Bhutan in a monastery - and goes about it seriously (including in a court scene where Mr. Genius spells out rules and sections - does that imply that courts basically pass judgments only on the basis of what lawyers argue?), you tend to get confused.
With a mediocre OST by Anoop Rubens, and a barely active cast that includes Sita's two assistants, one of them Mannara Chopra (in a brainless eye-candy role), Sita is hilariously confused. At times, it is good fun, with its own brand of whacky scenes, a bunch of comedic goons, with their own idiosyncrasies. Yet, at other times, the movie turns to being a serious hero-centric, action-oriented movie eulogising Ram's love for Sita (because he has been made to believe Sita is his wife from the time he was in school).
All of this, in the absence of logic and in the presence of a hyper-irritated Kajal Aggarwal, whose unintentional character sketch in the movie is that of a weird, silly woman who wants to get her way, but never gets her way, turns the movie into a headache.
The last part of the movie is stretched as if on a medieval torture rack, where Ram takes bullet after bullet and survives beautifully, making you wish the director had at least established his character as a divinely gifted one, instead of an intellectual prodigy bereft of worldly smarts.
Srinivas's acting leaves a lot to be cherished and it annoys you that Kajal is acting for both of them, and that further aggravates the viewing experience since one person acting for two just translates to over-acting. Sonu Sood is funny, and despite the devilishness of his character, provides the comic relief ensuring the movie doesn't turn into a total bore. Thank god for antagonists.
All in all, Teja's Sita is a misnomer, its female protagonist just a prop, her petulance just the context to highlight the niceness of a man who definitely doesn't belong to the world. And despite the fact that he is clearly a manchild, she falls in love with him because he will protect her with all his heart, and she has to manipulate him into believing she needs his protection. Are you yawning yet? Whatever Teja set out to write may have definitely been quirkier, more interesting, and complicated than this end product, which is an absurd mish-mash of irrationality.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.