Sai Dharam Tej Republic is an interesting unlike Telugu films which is devoid of loud action. The film simply focusses on societal issues that haunts everyone– rigged elections, corrupt governments and caste prejudice. Deva Katta’s Republic puts the spotlight on the harsh realities of the system we live in bang on.
The story revolves around Abhiram (Sai Dharam Tej), who grows up as an idealist and lives by certain principles in his life. An unexpected incident forces him give up on his dream of enrolling at MIT, and he becomes a district collector collector instead. He aims to run a clean administration, a system that stands by its people and doesn’t use them as pawns during elections.
Republic Movie Review : Sai Dharam Tej breaks the monotony of Telugu films
To realise his dream, Abhiram has to go head on with Visakha Rai (Ramya Krishnan), a ruthless local politician. As Abhiram takes up the responsibility of cleaning up the system, he is hit with one reality-check after another.
Republic is not the kind of film in which the hero flexes his muscles and beats the bad guys left right and centre. It’s a film in which the hero highlight the key aspects about democracy, ‘urban Naxals’ and voting rights, among other things. Republic Movie has some very interesting characters, especially Jagapathi Babu’s corrupt civil servant. Ramya Krishnan doesn’t play the power-hungry politician as a quintessential villain.
What really makes Republic hard-hitting is the ending, and it could leave one with mixed feelings. The way it chooses to end is a stark reminder of the harsh reality, and how it’s extremely difficult to change the system even if a few bad apples are removed. Sai Dharam Tej is aptly cast, and he gets ample scope and screen time to shine and deliver a strong performance.
It is a different kind of film that is not massy yet creates an impact. Watch Republic Movie it only on theaters