We've seen lots of horror comedies in the recent times, but how many films have we seen that are well packaged too, along with family emotions? Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae, directed by Ike, is one such film which does not rely on jump scares.
Jiiva buys an old bungalow with all his hard earned money. But only when he and his mother get inside the house, they realise that there is another family (Sri Divya’s family). Both families end up buying the same house. As there can be only one owner to the house, both of them start to fight. Who finally gets the house? What changes does the house make to these two families? All these questions are answered with an interesting screenplay.
Though director Ike has taken up a much used and a beaten genre, he has made sure that the packaging is done in a refreshing manner. His screenplay helps the audience to connect well with the characters, as the performances are lively. The first half is packed with some jump scares and comedies while the second half is occupied by family emotions, drama and a little bit of horror.
There are a few lows here and there, especially in the second half. Few double meaning jokes will work better for the youngsters. The jump scares are something which we always see in every horror film and hence when the power goes off (in the film), you tend to guess there is going to be a scary element there. As a result, you aren't scared. There has been no experimentation and the flashback portion too falls flat without a strong impact.
Jiiva has given his best for the film, as an ambitious youngster. The place where he interacts with Radharavi towards the climax is worth mentioning. Sridivya has been decent enough, with the amount of space given to her. Soori’s comedies work really well and the timing counters are enjoyable. It is a surprising makeover to see Radharavi in a role like this. Many notable star cast in the form of Radhika Sarathkumar, Thambi Ramaiah, Ilavarasu, Madhumila and others make good use of their potential.
On the technical front, Sathyan Sooryan’s cinematography stands high with pleasing visuals, that makes your movie watching experience good enough. Vishal Chandrasekhar's music gels along with the film and his re-recording give you the right feel of watching a horror comedy mixed with family emotions. T.S.Suresh’s editing is neat and apt.
As said earlier, Ike has worked in such a manner that audiences don't feel SBKT is an outdated, another horror film. He could have played little smarter with the screenplay, by cutting down quite a few bore moments. Had that been done, we'd have got a more engaging and an enjoyable horror family drama.