Now Premiering - Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya

Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya – New age Comic Detective Thriller.

Release - 2019

Starring - Naveen Polishetty, Shruthi Sharma and others

Director - Swaroop RSJ

Written by - Swaroop RSJ and Naveen Polishetty

Producer - Rahul Yadav Nakka

Available on - Amazon Prime Video

Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya is a private detective agent having his office addressed at Nellore Vegetable Market. Athreya with his typical mindset in this oddly typical Nellore is in search of a big case to solve as his agency as expected doesn't deal with huge numbers of cases. When one eventually reaches him, he has to embark a tougher more wrenching moves to solve the case.

Ironically and also comically to establish a detective agency in a town like Nellore, where the crime has a different direction and definitions laid makes the protagonist’s job odd and out of the box. This gets complimented by Athreya’s characterization which goes hand in hand with his set up, which, also being out of the box. He is droll yet sharp, witty yet calculated, draws inspiration from famous Hollywood crime movies and believes that they’re the new style to fathom a crime. He doesn't even bother to leave his shutter closed or lights off while he leaves his agency stating his fascination that it's very cinematic and cool to leave it like that and a detective should have that swag and attitude while he leaves for a case. In a nutshell, Athreya is too stylish or swaggy for Nellore's crime and is oddly a fit for it.

A few decades ago, Telugu Cinema had a release of a movie Chantabbai(1986) which was on similar notes with this movie. It was an out and out Jandhyala’s directorial venture with slapstick comedy and dry joke used as a tool of an engaging process and deliverance of the movie’s plot and message. Unfortunately, having good performances and a heart-warming story the movie didn’t make good money and was regarded as a flop at its release. With time, the movie aged and gained cult status for its entertainment values when aired on TV. This showed the development of interest and zeal in the audience for crime or detective comedies. So, after a few decades, when a similar movie as Chantabbai gets released, it was expected to be a sure shot hit. The example for this is Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya, which, in its premise follows the footprints of its predecessor. Though being more darker and chilling in its story, the beating heart of the tale is almost the same as that of Chantabbai. There we progress into an emotional and family melodrama, here we are paralleled with a vicious criminal case which our hero solves. Naveen Polishetty, of AIB fame, is spot on. He just becomes the backbone of the movie with his calibre of acting. Though we might have few inhibitions in the acting quotient of other character artists, all of them gets masked with his presence. He has the perfect comedy timing, strong dialogue delivery and right body language for a caricature-like Athreya. He even scores well in the emotional and serious parts. He has everything in his box to fulfil the requirements of this story. We also see imminent comedians like Suhas making his mark in the movie also creating subtle comedy with his lines. Almost all the jokes hit the mark, they either make us smile or giggle or at times laugh out loud.

The story has a good balance and blends of comedy with the crime. The emotional and chilling hefts augur well with the story. Comedy and crime individually have a great cosmo and connect and when both get mixed in right amounts is when the matters start getting interesting and entertaining. It is this equivalence of comedy and crime that writer Swaroop RSJ and Naveen accomplish excellently. The comedy does not have a separate track and neither does the thrill. No character has to do or outdo these elements and it gets so very well designed that their natural reactions and consequences are enough to have a glee. This organic and generic flavour becomes the biggest plus point after Naveen's performance. The story has a simplistic and to the point direction by Swaroop RSJ,  completely sticking to the story. Thankfully, this good story never gets tampered except for its mediocre pace. The story initially takes its time in establishing the main leads and the place and with time shifts comfortably into its main track.

The technical aspects of the movie are decent and apt. The cinematography by Sunny Kurapati and music by Mark K Robin set the right mood rather than over-powering and drenching the movie with their work. Its a wise move by the unit to set a restrained undertone to these arts giving prime emphasis to the story and its intense outline. The Screenplay and Editing of the movie make the movie more appealing and intriguing with linear and non-linear narration chosen smartly. It’s the screenplay which succeeds in raising questions and doubts keeping us on the edge. Both, the editing and Screenplay are precise and on point with very simple and minimalistic effects refraining from the gimmick and the confusion.

The movie is an example to the glory and newness of upcoming new talent in the industry, be it acting, writing, direction.... almost all the crafts ensure you an entertaining, enthralling and most importantly a refreshing ride. Its also an example to the fulfilment of eagerness and interest of the audience to experience a Detective comedy or Thriller comedy, so that when a good movie in such genre releases, the people will accept and enjoy it wholeheartedly to the fullest. Also, thankfully, it’s the end of a long wait for an as enticing Detective Comedy like Chantabbai. Watch Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya or as they sarcastically call him ASS Athreya this weekend as you'll hardly get bored. It delivers what it promises to.