Sathyam (Arvind Swamy) and his family leave their home in Guntur and start afresh in Vizag during his adolescent age. Two decades later, Satyam returns to Guntur for his cousin’s wedding, where he encounters Sundaram (Karthi), who introduces himself as a cousin of him. Sathyam does not recognize Sundaram, but he is forced to be with him. He also misses the bus and stays at Sundaram’s house at the night. Both get a good time to spend together and the rest of the story focuses on how they both discover each other.
Karthi infuses life into Sundaram’s character with his apt expressions and perfect body language. This character appears as a regular one for him, but still, he shows the required difference. Arvind Swamy gives a commendable performance as Sathyam, and he excels in emotional scenes. Sri Divya, and Divyadarshini make their presence felt while Jayaprakash, Raj Kiran and others were fine.
Satyam Sundaram is directed by Prem Kumar who got an exceptional applause for his earlier film, 96. In that film, the story proceeds in one night between two ex-lovers and in Sathyam Sundaram (Meiyazhagan) the narrative revolves around two cousins who spend almost a day together. The story might look simple, but it has a huge amount of emotional depth which is explored near perfectly by the director.
The performances of the lead actors, Karthi and Arvind Swamy lift the scenes to the next level. The audiences get connected to the incidents both of them go through and feel for their emotions as effectively. The screenplay is also engaging for most of the parts, which does not give the feeling that we are watching a lengthy movie. The emotional flashes in the second half work correctly and the climax gives a profound effect.
Sathyam Sundaram suffers with sluggish pace at times. Of course, it does not need to be narrated like a racy crime thriller, but it has some occasions which look redundant and could have been done away with. The film largely focuses on the two lead characters which is understandable, but the director should have given a proper conclusion to the parents’ track as well.
