Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side B Movie Review: Well-written, laidback love story

The title Sapta Sagaradaache Ello is a line from Gopalkrishna Adiga’s popular poem Yaava mohana murali kareyitu. The lines are about the restless human spirit and how it is distracted: ‘Sapta sagaradaache ello, supta sagara kaadide…’ (Somewhere beyond the seven seas waits a dormant sea). 

Manu (Rakshit Shetty) and Priya (Rukmini Vasanth) are in love and dream of a happy life together. All that Priya wants is a small house and an everlasting relationship with Manu. But Manu desires a life of fantasy, not knowing what awaits him. Coarse decisions land him up in jail. The dilemmas and tragic circumstances that ensue in the wake of the decisions form a major part of the narrative. 

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello explores love and sacrifice. It is beautifully written but the treatment is slow. What could have been a single, taut film has been divided into two, with a sequel coming up next month. The storyline is predictable, most characters don’t get closure, and a peek into Side B reveals almost everything it has to offer. What could have been a heart-wrenching love story becomes a bit of a yawn in some places. 

Manu’s character is layered, but Rakshit’s performance lacks intensity and depth. Rukmini Vasanth, attired in lovely shades of blue, plays a girlfriend who will go to any length to save the love of her life. Her infectious smile lingers every time she turns back to look at Manu. Senior actors — Sharath Lohitashwa, Avinash, Achyuth Kumar and Gopal Deshpande — rescue the 142-minute narrative with impressive performances. 

Cinematographer Advaitha Gurumurthy gives remarkable frames, while music composer Charan Raj, who wove magic in Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu and Kavaludaari, delivers a glum background score in ‘Sapta Sagara…’. 

The prison meetings and the court dates were what moved me — they vaguely reminded me of the infamous Daniel-Petra prison love story and Banojyotsna's long distance relationship with activist and political prisoner Umar Khalid. But Priya’s prison visits don’t amount to anything. She does everything in her strength to help him. But, suddenly, the focus shifts entirely to Manu and how he grapples with the situation inside the prison. From a love story with the girl in focus, the film changes tracks to make way for a sequel.