Stories centered around fatalism or mortality have been milked in
films like Final Destination. An inspirational plotline from such
stories has been gleaned by choreographer cum debut director Imran
Sardhariya for his first film, Endendigu. The simple idea is then woven
with faith in God and Indian traditions to bring in a local flavour.
Told from a couple’s point of view, Endendigu is a subdued thriller set
in Sweden.
The film opens with a family drama, with Krishna
(Krishna Ajai Rao) a software engineer and Jyothi (Radhika Pandit)
preparing for their wedding. They both are childhood friends who are now
becoming life partners with their families’ consent.
Krishna
holds a pre-wedding party for his friends and at the function, his guru
(Dattatreya) advises Krishna that he should only consummate his
marriage in a foreign land.
Since Krishna is leaving for Sweden
on a project, he considers his guru’s advice and the newly weds leave
the country after their wedding.
While Jyothi is trying to settle
in a foreign land, a dream brings a twist in her life in which she has a
horrifying vision of her husband’s death on a railway track.
How
she protects her husband and prevents him from being killed drives the
second half. Will Jyothi manage to save her husband and what kind of
sacrifice will she make to save Krishna brings us to the not so
thrilling climax.
Imran as a debut director skillfully manages to
have the right star cast. Though the film has a thin story plot, he
blends it with elegant camera movements, expressive angles along with
stylised lighting, and extracts sterling performances. Ajai Rao is
superb as the software engineer.
His tender treatment of his
woman, his cultured bearing his gentlemanly demeanour conveys nobility
that goes beyond the brief of the role.
Radhika is even more
exciting in her wonderful portrayal of a girl next door. She is
emotional and intelligent. Ajai and Radhika have a good on-screen
chemistry and that mainly keeps the romantic thriller engaging.
Imran’s dance choreography skills gave him the requisite confidence to step into film direction.
He
has further confirmed his credentials by inspiring engaging
performances from the ensemble cast that includes, Ashok, Chandrashekar,
Sumitra, Pavithra Lokesh, Tabla Nani, Ravindranath, among others.
Music
by V Harikrishna scores high as it enhances the emotional involvement
with the story and its characters. Capturing the opulence and
intricacies is cinematographer Venkatesh Anguraj who contributes to the
film’s richness.
The film generates a little amount of adrenaline
and takes a few unexpected turns while covering familiar territory.
Though low on suspense, this film filled with imaginative death scenes
offers a break from usual clichés. Now, if only the thrill quotient was
higher.