82. Ambajipeta Marriage Band; movie review

 

AMBAJIPETA MARRIAGE BAND

Cert 12A

130 mins

BBFC advice: Contains  strong violence, sexual threat

Is life in India's villages really this divided and cruel?

And is it true that the authorities conspire with those from a 'higher caste' to oppress the masses?

After watching Dushyanth Katikineni's tense social thriller Ambajipeta Marriage Band, these questions sprang to mind.

Its focus is the unjust life of the lower caste in Ambajipeta in Andhra Pradesh, where jovial barber Malli (Suhas) is a drummer in a group which plays at weddings and funerals.

Malli's family is under the ruthless boot of a higher-caste moneylender (Nithin Prasanna) who gives out occasional favours at a substantial long-term cost.

Malli is besotted with the latter's sister (Shivani Nagaram) and they meet clandestinely without thinking of the consequences should her family find out.

Meanwhile, his twin (Saranya Pradeep) is a primary school teacher who publicly embarrasses the moneylender, leaving him itching for revenge.

The first half of Ambajipeta Marriage Band is a bit daft, with Malli and his girlfriend behaving like bashful teenagers.

However, the moneylender goes from cynical to unhinged when the teacher defies him once too often.

This precipitates an action which exposes the vast chasm of influence between the haves and the have-nots.

Thus, the second half of Katikineni's movie becomes an ultra-edgy thriller with some five-star performances from a superb cast. 

Thus, I was especially onside with Pradeep's brave teacher, thought Suhas was excellently drawn in the lead and reckoned that Prasanna was as superbly rotten as I have seen a villain for quite a while.

The denouement was very played out, too. 

Ambajipeta Marriage Band was surprisingly and definitely well worth watching.

Reasons to watch: Tense, thriller

Reasons to avoid: Too much daft romance in its early stages

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know?  Suhas began his acting career on a Telugu YouTube channel, Chai Bisket 

The final word. Suhas: "Although the word caste is mentioned in the Ambajipeta Marriage Band, the movie’s actual theme is not caste. The main point is about the barriers created by ego between two people." Suhas

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